Sarah Woods Mystery Series (1-6) Boxed Set (54 page)

Chapter 25

Four days had gone by since Paul’s death; less than ten people attended his private service. Emily, Linda, myself, and two of the CPAs Paul worked with stood as the pastor spouted his firm belief that Paul was now one with God, and his soul finally at peace.

The service lasted half an hour, with refreshments provided after the fact.

No one seemed to want to talk about Paul, even though it was the reason we were there to begin with.

Emily wore a dark brown suit with polished black shoes. She’d even worn make-up and jewelry for the occasion. But no amount of blush and mascara could hide what she was feeling inside.

She approached me at the end of the service, walking with a slight limp. “Sarah, thank you for coming. Your support means a lot to me.”

I leaned over and gave her a hug. “How are you feeling? Is your leg causing you a lot of pain?”

“
It’s fine. A minor distraction compared to everything else.”

I gestured to the bouquet of flowers on the table. “I see Paul’s stepsister sent a nice arrangement.”

Emily nodded. “She wanted to be here, but … well, you know how it is.”

“
How are you doing?” I asked, and immediately regretted the stupid question.

“
Linda’s been taking good care of me. She dotes on me a little too much, but how can I complain about that?”

“
Have you been in contact with your parents?” I asked.

Emily looked down at her trembling hands. “No. Not yet. I guess I’m afraid the news will worry them too much.”

“
I understand.”

“
Well, I’d better say goodbye to Paul’s partners,” she said. “I can see they’re anxious to leave.”

“
Good seeing you, Emily. Take care of yourself.”

Linda joined me shortly thereafter, an exhausted expression on her face. She leaned in and whispered, “I know funerals are depressing, but this takes the cake.”

“
Emily is doing a remarkable job, though. Did you do her hair and make-up?”

Linda glanced around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation. “Yes. She said she didn’t care what she looked like, but I told her it would make her feel better. She’s so pretty when she has some color on her cheeks. Any color except yellow, that is.”

“
Have you heard from Detective James?” I asked. “Have they officially closed the investigation?”

Linda seemed confused. “I believe so. Why do you ask?”

“
I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about Hector.”

“
The Hispanic?”

“
Yeah. The whole charade with him pretending to be a landscaper. It doesn’t really make sense. The poisoning, the stabbing, Paul trying to save Emily in the end … I don’t know.”

Linda raised her eyebrows. “What are you saying?”

“
Maybe someone else was trying to hurt Emily. Maybe Paul was framed.”

Linda leaned in closer to me. “I told you from the beginning I thought Paul was innocent. But the evidence against him … how can you explain the fact that he bought a bus ticket for that terrible man? Why would he do that unless he was planning something with him?”

“
I can’t explain that,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t matter. Apparently, the police are satisfied with their theory. My only concern is for Emily’s safety now. Has she mentioned her brother recently? I take it she hasn’t contacted him.”

“
Not to my knowledge,” she said.

“
How are things going now that Emily is staying with you?”

Linda shrugged. “Fine. She keeps to herself. I try to get her to talk, but she won’t open up. I’m starting to think maybe she resents me for being Paul’s friend.”

“
How can she resent you?” I asked. “You’re going out of your way for her.”

“
I just wish there was something I could say … to give her hope.”

“
That’s a tough one.”

Linda looked over to where Emily was standing. “Sarah, you should come by the house tonight. Maybe it will perk Emily up. She really likes you.”

“
Sure. What time?”

“
How about five?” she said.

“
Can I bring something?”

“
Yes, bring lots of positive energy. Emily needs that.”

Chapter 26

When I got back to my apartment, my neighbor Jackie was coming down the front steps, dressed for work.

“
Sarah, I have a huge favor to ask,” she said. “And I promise to make it up to you.”

“
Sure, Jackie, what’s up?”

“
I’m going away in a few weeks. Dominic asked me to go to Montreal with him for two nights. He’s got some kind of package deal at this fancy hotel. Anyway, I need someone to take care of Chester.”

“
I’m your woman,” I said. “No problem at all. But, you haven’t been dating Dominic very long.”

“
I know, but he’s super sweet. I think he wants to settle down with someone and I hope it’s with me. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

“
You’re only thirty-two,” I said.

“
Anyway, I’d better head to work.”

“
Well, I’m happy to help out, as long as you write down where you’ll be staying, Dominic’s full name, his birthdate, social security number, and a list of his last three employers.”

Jackie burst into laughter. “I guess that’s what I get for having a private eye for a friend.”

“
Can’t be too careful these days.”

“
Please,” she said. “Dominic is just a boring computer analyst geek. His idea of breaking the law is taking extra sugar packets from Starbucks.”

“
That could lead to bigger stuff. Consider it a huge red flag once he starts taking the straws.”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Gotta go, babe,” she said, heading to her car. “Thanks again for Chester.”

In my opinion, there is no better aroma than freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I decided to make a batch to bring to Linda’s house. If I couldn’t take Emily’s pain away, at least I could provide a delicious distraction.

I took the cookies out of the oven at 4:30 so they’d still be warm when I got to Linda’s at five.

Or, so I thought.

Just as I was getting ready to go, my cell phone buzzed. I answered the call.

“
Hey Linda, I was just getting ready to leave here. I made cookies. Is there something else you’d like me to pick up?”

“
Um, Sarah? I’m so sorry. Tonight is not going to work.”

“
Oh. Is everything okay?”

“
We got back to the house after the service and Emily just fell apart. I helped her to bed. I figured she was exhausted and needed some rest after such an emotional day. A few minutes ago I got a call from a woman. She’s a grief counselor from the hospital. She wanted to offer Emily her services.”

“
What a nice thing,” I said.

“
Yes. I think Emily would benefit from talking to an objective party. Someone who didn’t know Paul.”

“
Makes sense,” I said.

“
I’m sorry it’s last minute. I took her up on her offer to come over tonight.”

“
No problem. I completely understand. Maybe I’ll come by another night.”

“
Absolutely. I’ll call you.”

With nothing else to do, I sat on the couch with the plate of cookies in my lap. I ate most of them while watching a rerun episode of Hawaii Five-O.

Chapter 27

I woke at 7:45a.m. I decided to go for a run.

It was a crisp morning. I welcomed the cool air into my lungs as I enjoyed the passing scenery. I’d needed this to help clear my mind of all that had happened in the past few weeks.

When I got back to my street, I saw someone sitting on the front steps of my apartment.

“
Linda, what are you doing here?”

She looked up, startled. “Sarah. I’ve been calling you for the past hour.”

“
Sorry. I don’t usually bring my cell phone with me when I’m running. Is something wrong? You seem frazzled.” Linda’s fingernails were all chewed off. That wasn’t like her.

“
Can we talk?” she asked.

“
Of course. Where’s Emily?”

“
That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

We headed up to my apartment and Linda plopped herself on my couch. “She’s decided to go to Florida and stay with her parents after all.”

I sat next to her while wiping my neck with a towel. “Really? That’s so out of the blue. Did she say why?”

“
It was the woman who came to the house last night.”

“
The grief counselor?”

Linda nodded. “I knew something was off when she walked in. I couldn’t put my finger on it. She didn’t strike me as very gentle or kind hearted like most volunteers in the field.”

“
What happened?”

“
She and Emily went into the living room and had a long chat. I didn’t stay. I gave them their privacy. Emily seemed a little strange after that, as if maybe the session hadn’t gone so well. But Emily didn’t want to talk about it. And then this morning I was reading the newspaper and saw this article.”

Linda handed me a folded newspaper clipping.

Murder Conspiracy in Residential Neighborhood
.

I quickly read the article. Every detail was there. Emily, Paul, and Hector had become the daily dish for millions of people to read.

“
The woman was a journalist, for God’s sake, not a grief counselor,” Linda said. “That bitch tricked Emily into telling her all the details of what happened the night Paul was killed.”

A rage bubbled up inside me. “This is … outrageous,” I said. “A major violation of privacy.”

“
The woman blew the whole thing out of proportion,” Linda said. “Made Emily out to be a complete imbecile, and portrayed the local police department as incompetent fools. Did you notice she even mentioned a private investigator?”

I looked up at Linda, who was practically in tears. “Yeah, I saw that. At least she didn’t mention my name. So you showed this to Emily?”

“
I had to. She would have found out anyway. She was so upset, she immediately packed her things and asked for a ride to the bus station. I couldn’t talk her out of it.”

I checked the newspaper again. “Oh no, it’s in the Boston Inquirer. This covers a good portion of northern New England, too. ”

“
I already made some calls. I’ll get that reporter fired before the end of the week. How dare she? I know the competition is fierce, but this kind of tactic is pure evil.”

I walked to the fridge, got two bottles of water, and handed one to Linda. “I hope you’re not beating yourself up about this. The story was going to come out either way. It just sucks that it had to be like this.”

“
Poor Emily.” Linda said, rubbing her eyes. “It’s not fair. How can one person deal with so much? I’m very worried about her. She looked like a lost soul when I dropped her off at the bus stop. I offered to give her money, but she declined.”

“
Did she leave a forwarding address or phone number for her parents place?” I asked.

“
No, but she told me she’d call as soon as she got there.”

“
Doesn’t she have her cell phone with her?”

“
No, she didn’t pay the bill. Her cell phone has been disconnected for days. Again, I offered to help out, but … it’s like she doesn’t care anymore.”

“
What about her house? She’s just leaving all that behind?”

“
I don’t know. This was so sudden. The bank is going to foreclose anyway,” Linda said.

“
Why is she taking a bus? Is she afraid to fly?”

“
I guess.”

I got up from the couch and paced my living room. There was a question I’d been meaning to ask for days. “Linda, what was Paul’s anxiety all about? It must have been bad if he needed a therapist.”

She looked up. “Sarah, what does it matter anymore? It’s obvious Paul had much deeper issues that I never knew about.”

“
What if Paul was set up?”

Linda jerked her head back in surprise. “Where is this coming from, Sarah? This is the second time you’ve brought it up.”

“
Paul is dead. Emily is gone. But I have a feeling we’ve all missed something important.”

“
Fine. I’ll tell you,” Linda exclaimed as she pushed herself up from the couch. “When Paul first came to me, he was having issues with his sexual identity.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Paul thought he might be gay.”

“
What? He wasn’t sure?”

“
No, not until he met Emily and fell in love with her. When he met Emily, he knew he was meant to be with her, and things just sort of fell into place. As you can see now, there was no point in saying anything about it to anyone. He was just working through an identity crisis.”

“
Did Emily ever find out that Paul had those tendencies?”

Linda shook her head. “I never said anything to her. I can’t imagine Paul ever would have, either.”

I had to sit down and process this information. I closed my eyes and forced myself to concentrate. My cell phone rang. I ignored it.

“
Sarah, Are you gonna get that?” she asked.

I grabbed the phone, looked down, and immediately recognized the number.

“
Hello?”

“
Sarah? It’s Detective James. Do you have a minute?”

“
Sure, what’s up?”

“
I just got off the phone with someone by the name of Benjamin Porter. He called the station and asked for the detective who was in charge of the Paul Hodges investigation.”

“
What did he say?”

“
He claims to be the brother of Emily Hodges.”

“
What? Are you sure? What did he want?” I asked.

“
He has information about his sister. Said something about a newspaper article. Anyway, he’s en route from Hartford, Connecticut. Said he’ll be here in an hour.”

“
But he didn’t say why?”

“
All he said was he had important information.”

“
Can I sit in on the conversation?”

“
That’s why I’m calling,” he said.

I glanced at my watch. “I’d better get ready. See you soon.” I ended the call and tossed my phone in my purse.

Linda looked worried. “Who was that?”

“
I’m sorry. I need to take a quick shower and head over to the police station. Something’s come up.”

“
Well, what is it?”

“
Did Emily ever mention that her brother changed his last name to Porter?”

“
No, why?”

“
Does Porter mean anything to you at all?”

“
No, Sarah. Why can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“
Because I don’t have a
clue
what’s going on. Not yet. Look, I’m sorry, but I really have to jump in the shower.”

I walked Linda to the door and promised to call her later. She wasn’t happy about it, but I left her no choice.