PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words) (8 page)

He smirked. “That’s the problem. I
have
a fortune and it needs to be put to good use.”

Andi knew he wasn’t exaggerating. He’d sold his software company for reported mega millions and in December, the employees at Sherry’s real estate firm, located in Bellevue, Washington, had asked if he was interested in selling the business to them. They’d offered a fair price, Vaughn said, so he accepted. “Did the closing go okay on Sherry’s company?”

He nodded. “It did and I gifted the proceeds to Eddie and Sally. They’ve got a lot of years ahead of them, and I want them to be worry-free of financial matters.”

He said it with no braggadocio and he’d done it because he loved Sherry’s parents as if they were his own. Andi got emotional just thinking about it. “That’s an amazing gesture, Vaughn. I’m sure they appreciate it.”

“They do, but it doesn’t bring back their daughter.”

“No, but Sherry would have approved and they’ll always be like your real folks.”

“That’s for sure. Ah, here comes lunch.”

While they ate, Andi said, “I’d like to take you up on your offer to discuss Clem Naylor.”

He studied her as he chewed. After he swallowed, he said, “I figured you’d do that eventually. What do you want to know?”

“Clem says he may have said something to you about his wife cheating on him.”

“What? He couldn’t remember telling me about it?”

She shook her head. “He claims he was distraught over it for the last few months of his life and wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Vaughn seemed to mull that over. “I guess if I’d been in a similar situation, I’d have been out of my head, too.”

“So, he did tell you about it?”

“We discussed it on a couple of occasions. Both times, I recommended that he confront Denise outright. He seemed reluctant to do so.” He picked up his water glass and took a healthy swallow. “His reaction kind of reminded me of my kids. You know, they hide their eyes and think you can’t see them?”

Andi nodded. “What you can’t see won’t hurt you, only Clem was wounded deeply by the perceived betrayal and nothing was going to salve that.”

“Perceived?”

“Umm. When he passed, he discovered that Denise hadn’t been cheating on him, after all.” She explained about Denise’s class and the birthday portrait.

Vaughn stared at her. “Poor, dumb bastard.”

“It gets worse,” Andi said. “The poor, dumb bastard hired a hitman to kill her for straying.”

Vaughn put down his silverware and slouched in his chair. “Ah, shit. That’s what he meant when he said he was going to take care of it. I thought he was going to finally confront her. Good God, what a mess!”

“Did he mention anything at all to you that might help me track down who the hitman is?”

His eyes widened. “Jesus, Andi, you’re not taking on a hitman, are you? This is a helluva lot different than what happened to Sherry.”

“Not so much, really, but relax, I’m not going to confront a paid killer. I’d just like to figure out who he is and how to find him before he actually completes the deed. EPD will take it from there.”

Vaughn straightened and planted his elbows on the tabletop, tenting his fingers. He tapped them repeatedly against his lips, a signal that he’d gone into thinking mode. “I don’t have a memory like yours, Andi, but I will tell you this. Clem said the answer to solving his problem was ‘only a hop, skip, and a jump away.’ I thought maybe he was considering moving to another city to get Denise away from her lover, but knowing he hired a hitman puts a fresh meaning to his words. He really doesn’t know who he hired?”

“No, he connected with someone on the Internet through a hitman site he found circuitously via an article on the FBI webpage.”

“Good lord! The FBI’s helping advertise hitmen?”

“No, it was an informational article about how one hitman, in particular, operated and how he was caught.”

“And from that, he went on to find a real hitman website?”

“As real as it gets.”

“I’m going to have to think on this some more. You know, I haven’t been completely in my right mind since Sherry died, and it’s been since then that Clem told me about Denise cheating on him.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I even have to ask you these questions. You’ve been through so much already.”

“I don’t mind. It’s just that I may not be able to recollect all of what he said to me, but I promise you, I’m going to try like hell, anyway.”

“I appreciate it.”

“You give me your word you’re not going to put yourself in danger?”

“I won’t, honest. Jack will be back on Sunday and on the case on Monday. Father Riley and I met with his LT last night, and tonight, she and I are going to Denise’s to let her know what’s going on.”

“If you need me to authenticate you, give me a call. I can be at her house within minutes.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that, especially” —she gave him a wide-eyed innocent look— “since I was going to ask if you could be there.”

He lifted an eyebrow, grinning. “What time?”

She told him.

“I can do that.”

Andi finished her coffee. “I’ve never met Denise, but the LT has known her for a long time. It turns out that Denise and the LT’s sister have been BFFs since forever.”

“That’s a lucky break.”

“It is. Still, she may be resistant to believing me, so it’s good to know you’ll be there to back me up.”

“What about Father Riley?”

“He’s gone off to Salem on a fact-finding mission to talk to a guy housed at the state penitentiary who hired The Liquidator to murder his wife. The hitman succeeded and evaded capture, but the husband was sentenced to life without parole. Riley is hoping he can shed some light on The Liquidator’s identity.”

“The Liquidator? Wasn’t that a TV series some years back, or a movie?”

Andi nodded. “A movie. This killer probably took the moniker because he was in a like profession.”

“Sounds to me like he’ll go to any lengths to protect his livelihood. Keep your head down and your eyes up, Andi. Do you have a concealed-carry permit?”

“For a gun?” Andi asked, shocked that Vaughn would even ask such a question.

He nodded. “If you’re going to spend your spare time super-sleuthing murders, you’d better start packing.”

Andi worked wit
h
no interruptions for the duration of the afternoon. She left Orion’s Belt a little early so she could meet Stacy on time at the Thai restaurant, then followed her further north, to the Naylor house.

Denise was a pretty natural blonde with a rounded figure and intense blue eyes. She and the LT hugged, clinging together like long-lost friends on a sinking ship. Indeed, Denise looked like a lost soul. Her red-rimmed eyes probably explained why the blue of her irises was so pronounced. Her nose was also red and she sounded stuffed up, no doubt from all the crying she’d been doing over her husband’s death.

Andi was already regretting that she was about to burst the poor woman’s bubble.

Stacy introduced her with a vague explanation of why they were there. A brief puzzled expression wrinkled Denise’s forehead, but she welcomed Andi warmly, nonetheless.

Andi accepted the widow’s outstretched hand and said, “I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s death.”

Denise’s eyes welled. “Thank you. Let’s sit in the kitchen, shall we? I have a pot of coffee made and I baked….” She shrugged. “I baked something this afternoon. I just can’t remember at the moment what it was.” She emitted a sound that might have been a laugh, but it held no humor. “I hope I remembered to include all the ingredients.”

The LT and Andi removed their coats and followed Denise through the house. She had a lovely home, decorated simply, but with style and coziness in mind. Everything was kid-friendly, too, which reminded Andi of the Hemmer’s house, where Sherry had also kept things kid-friendly.

Someday, Andi hoped to have a home where she could do the same. The moment the thought occurred to her, she realized that she’d been having too many similar thoughts lately about love, marriage, and a baby carriage. Her internal voice shouted out,
Stop!

“Where are the kids?” Stacy asked.

“Clem’s parents asked if they could have them for the weekend. I didn’t want to be without them for that long, but his folks are suffering just as badly as I am right now. How could I refuse them the company of their son’s children for a few days?” Denise went to the counter, then looked around as if she didn’t know why she’d come to the kitchen.

“You sit,” Stacy said. “Andi and I will pour some coffee and serve some of this delicious-looking dessert. Is this your famous Budapest Coffee Cake?”

Denise finally smiled. “Yes! That’s what I made.” She waved toward a cupboard and said, “Plates and cups there, silverware below. Napkins….”

Stacy put her hands on Denise’s shoulders and turned her. “We’ll find everything. I’ve been here before, remember?”

Denise moved over to the table and sat. The LT joined her, carrying a tray laden with four steaming mugs. Andi made two trips, placing the cake on the table last. It was within arm’s reach if anyone wanted a slice.

“Thanks for coming,” Denise said, her voice warbly. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself all night, alone.”

Andi found herself almost overcome by Denise’s grief. If only time wasn’t of the essence, they could have put off this meeting and the horrific topic they had to discuss with her. She and Stacy shared a look of regret.

Denise stared down at the fourth coffee mug, a slight frown on her face. “It was a nice service, wasn’t it?” she asked Stacy.

“It was. I especially liked hearing the anecdotal stories Clem’s friends and co-workers told, and when his cousin got up and related the time Clem ran away with his goldfish when he was ten. The way he told it…my God, every time I think about it, it makes me laugh.”

Denise smiled. “I always said to Clem, don’t go telling Christian he can’t do something, because he might run away like you did.”

Stacy fidgeted nervously with the handle of her coffee mug. Andi longed to say something, anything, but Stacy had to be the one to introduce the reason they’d come.

Finally, the LT blew out a breath and began. “Denise, I’m sorry to have to come at a time like this….”

“Why? I don’t want to be alone! I have the rest of my life to be alone.” Her eyes welled again but no tears fell. “Oh, God, what am I going to do without him?”

Stacy reached over and grabbed Denise’s hand, giving her time to regain her composure. After several minutes, she said, “Honey, there’s no other way to tell you this but straight out.” She scooted her chair a little closer to Denise’s without relinquishing her hold on her hand. “Clem thought you were having an affair.”

“No!”

“Yes. You were gone a couple of evenings a week and he thought you were meeting a lover.”

“But…
no
! I was at my painting class. I couldn’t tell him because it was a surprise. I was painting a family portrait, for his birthday next month.” Her eyes darted wildly between the LT and Andi. “I wasn’t having an affair! I would
never
do that! I swear to you!”

“I know that, honey, but Clem apparently didn’t.”

“Why didn’t he ask me? I wouldn’t have liked giving up the surprise, but I would have to put his mind at ease. I
never
would have cheated on him! I loved him. He was my soul mate!”

“I know that, too, Denise, but….”

“What? There’s something more, isn’t there? Spit it out,” she demanded, her tone suddenly bitter.

Stacy looked at Andi, then back at her sister’s BFF. “Clem hired, that is, he contracted for….” Stacy, who Andi had never seen emotional, began to cry. “Andi, please….”

Andi took a deep breath and geared herself up to deliver more bad news to a woman who didn’t seem like she could take much more. “Clem hired a hitman to kill you, Denise, because he thought you were—”

“No! You’re lying!” she screamed. She jerked her hand from Denise’s hold and pushed away from the table. Her chair went crashing into the wall, leaving a horizontal indentation where it hit.

Stacy jumped up and grabbed Denise, trying to console her. “Please listen, honey. Just hear Andi out.”

According to Clem, his wife was so strong, she rarely cried. Apparently, he had never considered how she might react to his death, or the allegation that she’d cheated on him. Choosing her words carefully, Andi explained who she was, where she worked, and what she encountered on a daily basis when she sat at her computer.

Denise stared at her as if she were some whack job just released from a mental hospital. Andi couldn’t blame her. Wouldn’t she react the same way, if their roles had been reversed? Hadn’t she had a hard time dealing with the Smokies in the beginning? And if she were being honest, she still had difficulty with whatever phenomenon it was that had made her the one who could hear dead people.

The doorbell rang. Stacy righted Denise’s chair and forced her to sit. “I’ll get the door. Be right back.”

She returned with Vaughn close behind her.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said to Andi. “Kid issues.” His gaze moved on to Denise, whose expression was a cross between shock and disbelief. “I’m guessing that right about now, Denise either wants to throw you out on your arse or use a butcher knife on you.”

Denise raised stunned eyes on him. “You
believe
this madness?”

Vaughn rounded the table and squatted beside her, taking both her hands in his. “I can’t speak to whether or not you were having an affair, Denise, but—”

“I wasn’t!”

“But,” he went on, as if she hadn’t interrupted, “I do believe what Andi’s told you.” He swallowed hard, as if trying to get his emotions under control. “I’ll tell you why.”

. . .

Denise led Andi, Stacy, and Vaughn into Clem’s office, then went upstairs to see if she could locate the burner phone in the bureau. She returned several minutes later, looking a little shell-shocked as she handed it and his smartphone over to Stacy, who passed both to Andi. “Honestly, I’m surprised it was there. Clem was constantly misplacing his phone. The fact that he could keep track of two of them astonishes me.”

Denise and Vaughn sat in the two leather chairs facing the desk while Stacy began a methodical search of the desk and file cabinet. Andi took Clem’s laptop and both phones over to a small table near the window where a chess board was set up. She moved it to make room for the laptop.

She tackled the disposable phone first, transcribing the text messages between Clem and The Liquidator. An hour later, Stacy came up dry in her search, but Andi, with Denise’s assistance on possible passwords, managed to get into both Clem’s smartphone and his email account. There were only two related texts on the smartphone, but nearly a month earlier, he’d exchanged several emails with The Liquidator. The week before his death, he received one last email, which had instructed him to buy a throw-away phone.

Andi made a note of the IP address. Maybe, just maybe, the police could track this contract killer down before he got close to Denise.

“What now?” Denise asked, her eyes on Andi.

Clem’s widow had gone from tearfully wringing her hands to being royally pissed off. Who could blame her? No woman wants to know her husband, dead or alive, hired someone to kill her. Especially over a bogus assumption.

Andi looked to Stacy for guidance. Technically, this was her show, after all.

“First things first,” the LT said, her tone crisp and cop-like again. “Clem gave the hitman a window of opportunity to complete the hit. We’ll do everything we can to make certain you’re not only safe during that period, but inaccessible, as well.” She went on to relay the dates from the summary page Andi had given her.

Denise looked doubtful. “You really think if this Liquidator person can’t kill me before February eighth, I’ll be free and clear?”

“We’ll make every effort to ensure your safety, but obviously, I don’t know what’s going on in the hitman’s head, which means I can’t predict every contingency.”

“So, basically, you’re saying this is a crap shoot.” Denise popped up out of her chair and stalked toward the window, even though the blinds were drawn. “I can’t live the rest of my life in fear, looking over my shoulder whenever I leave the house!”

“Let me back up a minute. Every date Clem gave the hitman coincided with something he had calendared that would provide him with an alibi. The first date was next Wednesday, January twenty-seventh, and the last date was Monday, February eighth. However, he subsequently told Andi that his preferred kill date was February third, which was his birthday.”

Denise winced at the
kill date
part of Stacy’s statement, but her voice was strong when she spoke. “Despite the fact that I loved Clem, he had a bit of a puffed-up ego and a tiny mean streak, and from the tone of the texts and email, I’m betting on the February third date. If his birthday was going to be miserable, he’d want me to suffer right along with him.” She paced the room, ending up beside Stacy at the desk. “You still haven’t answered my question. What happens if you manage to keep me alive until February ninth? Will he still come after me?”

Andi decided to put in her two-bits worth. “If I may?”

Stacy nodded, looking slightly relieved. Andi wondered if maybe the LT
should
recuse herself from the investigation.

“What if, acting like I’m Clem, I text The Liquidator and tell him I’ve changed my mind? That I want the contract cancelled? Tell him to keep the money and keep on truckin’?”

“That’s a great idea, Andi!” Stacy said. “Do it.”

Andi activated the burner phone and used her thumbs to type in the message. She kept it short and in the style Clem had used on previous occasions.

Changed mind. Discovered wife not

cheating. Contract cancelled. You keep

down payment. cn

She hit
SEND
.

“Do you think he’ll answer immediately?” Vaughn asked, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

“Let’s hope so,” Andi said, even as the phone
pinged
. She read the incoming reply with dismay.

nice try, lady. read your husband died.

pyt in full already made. no-cancellation

contract.

“What does he mean, ‘no-cancellation contract’?” Denise said, her voice almost a shriek. “I thought you said Clem only made a down payment.”

“He did,” Andi said, distressed. “Either your husband lied or I guess it’s possible, being in the state he’s in, he doesn’t remember the payment details correctly.”

“You make is sound like he’s just traumatized,” the widow said, her tone accusatory. “For God’s sake, he’s dead! Who knows how that affects a person’s mind?”

Andi nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to minimize his condition. Each time he talks to me, I can tell he’s pretty rattled over this.” Her glance swept over the other three in the room. “To be honest, I just don’t know enough about how this talking-and-thinking-when-they’re-dead thing works.”

“If it’s the same as when you’re alive,” Stacy said, “you may think of something days or weeks later. When they’re traumatized, it happens like that with witnesses all the time.”