Sarah Woods Mystery Series (1-6) Boxed Set (10 page)

Chapter 24

Gabby picked up my overnight bag with one hand and Brian’s backpack with the other. “Why don’t you guys take my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said, walking towards her bedroom.  

“
No, Gabby. We’ll make do in the living room.”  

“
No way. I haven’t forgotten that you let me stay at your house for two weeks when I got kicked out of my last place and had nowhere to go.”

So we followed her to her bedroom.  

“
Hold on a sec,” she said, holding up a hand just as we were about to enter, “let me make sure I don’t have any ‘toys’ lying around.”

“
Toys?” Brian repeated dubiously, as Gabby disappeared into the room.  

“
Yeah, I think she collects vintage dolls,” I lied.  

“
Okay. It’s all set, Make yourselves comfortable,” Gabby said, motioning us into her bedroom.  

“
Brian, why don’t you go on in and relax for a bit.   Gabby and I need to talk.” I gently slipped my hand inside her arm and steered her back to the kitchen.  

“
You think I’m nuts, Gabby? I swear someone went through my desk today,” I said, slumping into one of her dining room chairs.  

“
Look, I know you’ve been stressed out the past few days. Who wouldn’t be? Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you.”  

“
That’s what Brian thinks.”  

“
You’re dealing with a lot right now. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”  

“
I wish I knew what happened to Beth. It’s driving me mad.”  

“
So what’s the next move?”

“
Well, I may have found a way to meet Carter.”  

“
That guy Beth worked for?”  

“
Yeah. I found out he was scheduled to meet Beth Saturday afternoon. Which reminds me, I’m still waiting for Max to call me back.”  

Gabby walked over to the counter and grabbed a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. She set the glasses on the table in front of me and filled them.  

“
What about your client? Did you call him, yet?”  

“
Not yet. I’m still not sure about him.” I lifted my glass and sipped.  

Gabby gave me a strange look. “What are you doing?” she asked.  

“
What do you mean?”  

“
You don’t sip fine tequila from a shot glass,” she said, as if I should have known better.  

“
Well, pardon me,” I said, downing the rest of the clear liquid.  

“
That’s better.” She refilled the glass.  

“
Hey, slow down,” I said, raising a hand in protest. “I’m not used to drinking like this. Are you trying to get me drunk?”  

“
That’s the general idea.”  

Chapter 25

Saturday, November 13

I walked into Gabby’s kitchen the next morning to freshly brewed coffee and a note on the table informing me that she had an early appointment. I decided Brian deserved to sleep in, so didn’t wake him. Although my hangover wasn’t as bad as I expected, I took some Advil anyway, poured myself a cup of coffee, and sat down at the kitchen table. Getting drunk twice in one week was not something I did often, and I was surprised at how well I was holding up. Nevertheless, I vowed to lay off the booze for a while. Just as I raised the cup to my lips and inhaled the aroma of the coffee, I heard my cell phone ringing. I spilled coffee setting the cup down, and dug into my purse for the phone. When I saw the caller ID, my heart skipped a beat.  

“
Hey, Sarah. It’s Max.” He sounded as if he’d just gotten up as well.  

“
Oh, good. Thanks for calling,” I said, a bit breathlessly.  

“
What’s up?” he asked, an odd tone in his voice. Could he possibly still be feeling awkward about the kissing episode, I wondered?  

“
I was hoping you could come over. I have some things to tell you concerning Carter.”  

“
Sure,” he replied, the warmth returning to his voice. “I can be there in half an hour.”

“
Actually, can you come to Gabby’s house? Brian and I stayed here last night. Someone broke in to my house yesterday. I’ll explain when I see you.” I gave him her address.

“
I’ll see you shortly,” he said, and hung up.  

I walked back to Gabby’s bedroom. Brian was still sleeping, so I leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek. The poor kid was a champ for putting up with such a neurotic mother. On my way out of the bedroom, I slipped into an oversized wool sweater I picked up off the floor and donned a baseball cap that was lying on top of her bureau. I brushed my teeth and found some lipstick in my purse. I was a little apprehensive about Max seeing me without my face on, but what did it really matter? I was married. He was too young. End of story.  

Max was knocking on the door twenty minutes later. As I let him in, he smiled and pointed to my hat.  

“
You look cute.”  

“
Best I could do on such short notice.”  

“
It suits you.”

We went into the kitchen and I poured him a mug of coffee. We sat quietly for a few moments before I unloaded on him.  

“
Jacob and Lindy came to see me yesterday,” I began.  

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.  

“
She’s back in town?” He moved closer to me.  

“
They explained everything to me, and I don’t believe they had anything to do with Beth’s death. But something else has come up.” I spread the photos in front of him.  

“
Remember I told you about Lindy’s white Subaru?” I said, as he inspected the photos. “That night Beth got into it with her, these must have somehow slipped out of her purse. Lindy found them on her car seat the next morning. So my question is, how’d Beth get these?”

“
Who is this guy? A client of yours, I presume.”  

“
His name is Jeff Gardner. He’s the guy I stayed late for the night Beth was murdered. But these photos weren’t taken that night, but almost two weeks before. See the date?”  

“
Yeah, but who took them?”  

“
Gabby thinks Jeff set up a camera or cell phone out of sight on a high shelf in the massage room. But why would he do that? As you can see, there’s nothing erotic going on here.”  

“
Don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t for the reason you’re thinking. There must be an explanation. Have you called him yet?”  

“
No. I don’t really know what to say. He’ll probably deny it anyway.”  

“
It’s worth a shot,” Max said, taking a sip of his coffee.  

“
Anyhow, I met with Melissa again yesterday to see if she knew anything about the photos. She didn’t. But we may have found a way to find Carter.” I took out the greeting card and handed it to him. I pointed to the name at the bottom.  

“
Cousin Greg? We don’t have a cousin Greg,” Max said.  

“
That’s the name Melissa said Carter always used when he sent these cards to Beth. She said Beth and Carter would send notes like this to each other with messages only they would understand the meaning of. Maybe one of Carter’s ‘jobs’ finally caught up to them in a really bad way.”  

“
That’s why I blew a gasket when Beth told me what she was doing with Carter. I knew it was just a matter of time before they got busted for something.”  

I nodded and gnawed a fingernail.

“
But surely Carter must know by now that Beth is dead. You don’t think he’ll still show up, do you?”  

“
I asked the police to keep her name out of the press until we’d had more time to find her killer. They balked, but eventually agreed to give me a week. There’s a chance Carter doesn’t know.”  There was an edge of excitement in Max’s voice.  

“
Seems like a long shot. But we should devise a plan, anyway, don’t you think?”  

“
The plan is quite simple. I’m going to show up tomorrow at this location.”

“
Then what?”  

“
Then I get him to tell me exactly what the hell he got Beth into this time.”  

“
I’ll go with you.”  

“
That’s not such a good idea.”  

“
Why? D’you think Carter will do something stupid?”  

“
It’s not him I’m worried about.”  

“
I understand,” I said, leaning back in my chair.“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”

Chapter 26

When Max left Gabby’s house, I noticed a text from Gabby. She’d booked an appointment for me for three o’clock. My shoulders slumped as I texted an acknowledgment. It was the last thing I wanted to do.  

 
I finally woke Brian and I got our things together. We stopped at Burger King on the way home. He ordered a cheeseburger and fries; I ordered a vanilla shake.

“
I have an appointment today, but I’ll be home for dinner,” I said, as we pulled into the driveway.  

“
Don’t forget, Dad’s coming home tonight,” Brian said through a mouthful of fries.  

“
Oh shit, that’s right,” I said, giving Brian an apologetic look. He just laughed and jumped out of the car.  

I took a shower, did my hair, and slipped into my usual work attire, khaki slacks and a white t-shirt. I almost called and asked Gabby to reschedule the appointment, but then remembered I’d maxed out my credit cards on the shopping spree the day before. Bills had to be paid, so I had to work.  

 
Gabby’s client was just leaving as I walked into the office. She met me with a look of regret.  

“
I know it’s your day off,” she said. “But this guy specifically requested you.”  

“
Did you screen him?” I asked, looking down at the appointment book.  

“
He said he was referred by one of your other clients, so I figured he was okay.”

“
Gabby, you can take him if you want. I know you could use the money. I’m just not in the mood to work today,” I said, massaging the back of my neck.  

“
I would have, but he was adamant. He wants you.”

“
What’s his name?”  

“
I wrote it down. Neal or something.”  

“
Wonderful,” I muttered as I went to get the room ready.  

Half an hour later, as I was sitting at the front desk, I noticed a guy wearing faded jeans and a plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up standing just outside the office. He checked himself out in the window as he came through the door.  

I got up and extended a hand as I stepped around the desk to greet him. He looked me up and down before taking my hand.  

“
Nice to meet you,” he said, nodding as if in approval of me. “I’m Neal James.”

“
Hi, Neal. You told my associate you were referred to me?” I inquired, withdrawing my hand as quickly as possible without being obvious.  

“
A buddy from work. Don’t know him very well. His name’s John.”  

Some people just give me the creeps from the start, and there was definitely something weird about this guy.  Against my better judgment, I handed him the client intake form. I showed him around, then led him back to the massage room, handed him a towel, and asked him to take a quick rinse in the shower before we began the session.  

Five minutes later, I entered the room to find him lying face up on the table, buck naked.

“
I’m sorry, Neal,” I said, grabbing the sheet he’d left on the edge of the table and pulling it over, and tucking it in under, him. “It’s our policy to drape all of our clients.” I was struggling to remain cool and collected. The last thing I wanted to see was his genitalia staring me in the face. No, thank you very much.

“
Oh, that’s not necessary, Sarah. I’m fine without the sheet. Won’t tell a soul,” he said, placing his index finger over his lips.  

“
I don’t think you understand,” I said, striving to keep my response unemotional. “It’s our policy. I hope you’ll respect it.”  

“
Aw. Okay, then,” he said dejectedly, and closed his eyes.  

Pouring the oil in my hands, I looked at the clock on the wall. I knew the next sixty minutes were going to pass very slowly. I clasped my hands under his ankles and pulled gently to align his body with the table. I asked him to take a few deep breaths. He seemed to relax, so I made my way to the front of the table, slid my oiled hands under his neck, and began to work the muscles.

“
Actually, Sarah, my neck is fine. There is, however, another area that needs attention,” he said, opening his eyes.  

As I stood back, he glanced down at his groin and my eyes followed to the huge tent in the middle of the table.  

“
How charming,” I said, with surprising restraint.  

“
Oh, yes it is. Is there something you can do about that? It’s a wild animal that needs to be tamed,” he said, clearly impressed with himself.   When he reached around my waist and squeezed one of my butt cheeks, something inside me just snapped. A rage completely foreign to me surged up my spine.  

“
You know what, Neal? I’d be happy to do something about that,” I said, and without thinking, slipped the oil bottle from its holster and swung it like a bat, with all the strength I had in me, right into his crotch.

“
Fucking bitch!” he screamed, rolling onto his side and clutching his groin with both hands.  

“
What’s the matter? You told me to do something about it. The wild animal needed to be tamed, right?”

“
I was just having some fun, you stupid cock tease,” he hissed, still clasping his injured member.  

“
You slime are all the same,” I said calmly. “Now hurry up and get your ass off my table and out of my office before I call the cops.”  

I pulled the door closed gently behind me as I left the room.

The adrenaline coursing through my body must have been in evidence because the expression on Gabby’s face was one of shock.  

“
What the hell happened in there?” she asked.  

“
Asshole wanted some action, so he got some,” I said, in complete control of my emotions.  

“
What did you do?”  

“
I whacked him off,” I said, with mock seriousness.

Gabby stood there for a long moment staring. The door down the hall slammed open against the outside wall and Neal came limping down the hall, trying to zip up his fly.  

“
Stupid whores,” he muttered as he flew past us and out the door.  

It wasn’t often Gabby was left speechless. It was a moment to cherish.

She finally blinked a few times and said, “I’ve just witnessed one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”  

“
What’s that, Gabby?”  

“
Sweet justice,” she replied.