Six Killer Bodies (27 page)

Maria, ful you are of grace

Rueben Garza

As far as she could tell, there were no other members of

Maria’s family present.

Was Rueben the man Carlotta had once overheard Maria

talking to on the phone? Maria had told the person never

to call her again. When Carlotta had asked Maria why she

had moved to Atlanta, the detective had said she’d

wanted a fresh start. Had Maria been trying to escape a

bad situation? If so, how profoundly sad that the job she’d

taken to save her had led to her death.

A hand on Carlotta’s knee startled her, then she

remembered with a mental shake that Peter had come

with her. He gave her a reassuring smile and she moved

closer to him.

After the service, they filtered out of the church and

walked hand in hand toward the parking lot. Since Wesley

was stil avoiding her, Peter had offered to take her by

Chance’s to see if she could catch Wes and try to patch

things up. But when she and Peter reached his SUV, to her

surprise, Jack was waiting for them.

He looked taller and broader in his uniform. His face was

drawn in the afternoon sun and she wondered if he’d slept

since Wednesday. He nodded to Peter. “Thank you both

for coming.”

“It was a nice service, Jack,” Carlotta offered quietly.

“Yes, it was,” he agreed, then settled his gaze on her. “A

word, Carlotta?”

After a few tense seconds, Peter released her hand and

gestured to the vehicle. “I’l wait for you in the car.”

Carlotta’s heart thumped against her breastbone. She

waited until the SUV door closed with a thunk before

lifting her gaze to Jack’s.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” he asked.

She swallowed. “About what?” There were just so many

things he could be referring to.

His mouth tightened. “This morning I went back to the

bookstore where the first victim worked. Imagine my

surprise when I interviewed the girl in the coffee shop and

she told me about a woman with long, dark hair who came

in last Saturday asking questions about the very same

thing.”

Her mouth went dry. “Jack, there are lots of women in this

city with long, dark hair.”

“And a gap between their front teeth?”

She tongued the gap that had always plagued her. Darn it,

she should’ve worn her retainer.

“I can describe the shoes you were wearing if you want.”

She pressed her lips together.

Jack looked murderous. “Carlotta, I’m not in the mood to

play games. Start talking.”

She sighed. “Okay, so I went in and asked a few

questions.”

“And?”

“And, I’m sure the girl told you what she told me—that

Shawna Whitt had a bracelet with a charm on it shaped

like a chicken. She said that Shawna was planning to join

an online dating site, but didn’t have the chance. And she

said that she hadn’t mentioned anyone bothering her.”

“What else?”

She closed her eyes briefly. “A guy at the information desk

told me that Coop came into the store a couple of times a

week. He identified his picture, and his white van.”

“What else?”

“That’s all.”

A vein in his temple jumped. “Why didn’t you tel me this

earlier?”

“Because—”

“Because it incriminated Coop?”

She nodded.

“Meanwhile, you ask me to run background checks on two

random guys who give you the creeps? Which turned up

nothing, by the way.” He crossed his arms and she had the

feeling it was to keep from shaking her. “Do you realize

that you withheld evidence we could’ve used? Now we

know the Whitt woman had a charm bracelet, which

wasn’t found in her home, and that the charm in her

mouth came from her bracelet. That’s big. And we can

prove that she and Coop had many opportunities to cross

paths.”

Carlotta remained silent.

He gritted his teeth. “I should arrest you for obstruction of

justice.”

Carlotta scoffed, outraged. “Last time I looked, Jack, I don’t

work for the APD. I was a citizen asking questions on my

own behalf. I wasn’t obligated to give you the information

I uncovered.”

“But if you had, maybe we could’ve connected more of the

dots before the bail hearing. Maybe Coop wouldn’t have

been released.” His jaw hardened. “And maybe Maria

would stil be alive.”

Carlotta blinked back sudden tears. “You’re blaming me

for her death?”

Jack looked away and expel ed a noisy sigh. When he

glanced back, he seemed more calm. “No, I’m blaming

Coop. But if you hadn’t been trying to protect him, things

could’ve gone differently.” He leaned in closer. “Maria was

right. You play detective to make up for the fact that your

life is so screwed up. Why don’t you stop trying to fix

everything else and get your own affairs in order? And I do

mean affairs.”

Carlotta felt as if she’d been slapped.

Jack straightened and remorse flashed in his eyes for a

split second, then disappeared. He turned to go.

“Jack.”

He turned back and sighed. “What?”

Her shoulders fel . “There’s something else I didn’t tell

you.” She haltingly described visiting Shawna Whitt’s

neighbor, tel ing him what the woman had said about

seeing a white van in the neighborhood the day before

Shawna had been found dead. “The neighbor’s name is

Audrey Cole.”

“Wait a minute—I talked to her.”

“I know. But she said you didn’t ask the right questions.”

Jack scowled. “Anything else?”

She took a deep breath. “The prostitute Pepper told two of

her friends that she was having trouble with one of her

clients, a guy she called Doc. And…all of the charms up to

Maria link back to Coop in some way.” She ticked them off

on her fingers. “Chicken coop, he smokes cigars, he’s into

cars, he has a gun, he’s been in handcuffs, a barrel maker

is a cooper, he’s a drinker, and he likes books.” She lifted

her hands. “I don’t know how the lipstick fits in. Also, the

charms weren’t purchased at any store in the Lenox

Square Mall, the Perimeter Mall, or any jewelry store in

the Buckhead zip code.”

Jack seemed to have been struck speechless.

The door to the SUV opened and Peter stepped out. “Sorry

to interrupt, but Carlotta, Hannah’s on the phone. She says

that Wesley is missing.”

Carlotta’s heart jumped. “What?”

“She’s called all around. He hasn’t been to work in two

days. When he left his meeting with his probation officer

Wednesday, someone saw him get into a black Town Car.

No one’s seen him since.”

Carlotta frowned. “That’s doesn’t make sense.” Then she

gasped and turned to Jack. “Do you think this has anything

to do with Coop?”

Jack massaged the bridge of his nose. “Actually…no. I

might know what this is about. Let me make some phone

calls.” He looked at Peter. “Take Carlotta home. And tie

her to something.”

25

“So, what did Jack want back there?” Peter asked as they

drove home.

Carlotta chewed on her thumbnail as Jack’s accusations

whirled in her head. If you hadn’t been trying to protect

Coop, things could’ve gone differently…maybe Maria

would stil be alive…Why don’t you stop trying to fix

everything else and get your own affairs in order? Even

now, his words cut to the bone.

“He’s a little upset that I’ve been poking around asking

questions.”

“I can understand why. He just lost his partner to this

maniac. He doesn’t want another death on his

conscience.”

“I’m just trying to help,” she murmured.

“I know,” he said, reaching over to stroke her arm. “And

Jack knows, too.”

“Why would Wesley just disappear?”

“He wouldn’t. I’m sure there’s an explanation.” Peter

winked. “He’s probably with a girl.”

“He’s been sleeping with Liz Fischer, you know.”

“His attorney? Wow.”

She slugged him in the arm.

“I’m not saying I approve, it’s just that…isn’t he like,

nineteen?”

“Yeah, and she’s like fortysomething. She was my dad’s

attorney.”

“Yeah, I seem to remember that.”

“Liz was also my dad’s mistress.”

“Okay, that sounds…complicated.”

Carlotta scoffed. “That’s putting it nicely.”

“What about the girl we saw with Wes at Screen on the

Green? She looked to be his age.”

“Meg. Yeah, I think he likes her, but I’m not sure he knows

what to do about it.”

He laughed. “The age-old question.”

She was quiet for a few minutes, studying her ragged nails.

She used to pride herself on perfect salon manicures, but

lately she’d fallen into the habit of nibbling them down to

the quick. The last time Wes had “disappeared,” Peter had

brought him home. It had taken some prying, but she’d

final y gotten out of Wesley that The Carver had held him

and tortured him. “Do you think that animal The Carver

has him again?”

“Let’s hope not,” Peter said carefully.

“The other time…did you see the place where they held

him?”

“No. I picked him up at a gas station in east Atlanta.”

“That’s not a very good part of town.”

“Generally, no,” he agreed. “But Jack seemed to have

some inside information, so let’s let him do his job.”

She clasped her hands in her lap, brooding over a topic

they’d never discussed because Peter had danced around

it…and she hadn’t really wanted to know. “The last time

Wes was in trouble, he was able to call you. So the man

must’ve wanted something in return for releasing Wes.”

Peter squirmed.

“It was money, wasn’t it?”

“Carly, that’s between me and Wes.”

“But you did it because he’s my brother.”

“Okay, yes, I helped him out of jam because he’s your

brother. I happen to love you, and I know you love him. I

didn’t think twice.”

“How much did you have to pay?”

“Please, don’t ask.”

“Five thousand?” she pressed.

“Carly—”

“More? Ten thousand?”

“I’m not—”

“Omigod, more? Twenty thousand?”

He pressed his lips together.

Carlotta gasped. “Twenty-five thousand?”

Peter swung his head to look at her. “It’s just money.”

She covered her mouth. “Oh, Peter…I had no idea. How

can we ever pay you back?”

“It wasn’t a loan, it was a gift.” He dipped his chin. “And I

don’t want to hear any more about it.”

Carlotta sat back, her mind reeling. She was overwhelmed

at the lengths Peter was willing to go for her family…for

her. And no matter what he said about the ransom being a

gift, she felt obligated to pay him back…somehow.

When they arrived at Peter’s home, he suggested they

take a swim to relax. But she resisted, stil melancholy over

Maria’s death and worried sick about Wesley.

And Coop.

“I’m going to rest a while, then we can cook dinner

together,” she said.

He nodded and kissed her. “Don’t worry. Wes wil be fine.”

She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and turned on the

news to watch while she changed out of the somber

mourning clothes. Coop’s picture was plastered across the

screen with a bold graphic “Charmed Kil er on the Run”

running across the bottom. A photograph of Maria

Marquez in uniform flashed while the newscaster

reminded viewers that Dr. Cooper Craft was considered

armed and dangerous.

“Coop, where are you?” she whispered.

She retrieved her cel phone, pul ed up Liz’s number and

connected the call. She expected to leave a message, but

Liz answered.

“Hi, Carlotta.”

“Liz, have you seen Wes?”

“Not since last Saturday,” she said in a tone that indicated

she was irritated with him. “Why?”

“No one seems to know where he is. If you hear from him,

wil you have him call me?”

“Sure thing.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any news about Coop.”

Liz sighed. “Nothing good. The best possible scenario is

Cooper calls me and I negotiate his surrender.”

Carlotta could spin the worst-case scenarios on her own—

and she’d been doing so since Jack had told her Coop was

on the run.

“I won’t tie up your line,” Carlotta said. “I just thought you

might know where Wes is. Sorry to bother you.”

“No trouble. If you talk to Wes before I do, ask him to call

me. It’s…important.”

“Okay. Bye, Liz.”

Carlotta ended the call and wondered if Wesley had

broken things off with Liz. He’d said he’d only slept with

her to steal the confidential work-product file for

Randolph. Now that they had it, maybe he’d decided to

end his relationship with Liz to pursue Meg.

She could only hope.

Carlotta removed her cigarettes and lighter from her purse

and walked out onto the veranda for a smoke. She lit one,

then another for good measure and put both cigarettes in

her mouth for a deep inhale.

It was late afternoon on a cloudless summer day—a

beautiful day to be buried. Detective Marquez’s casket

was probably underground by now. She’d read

somewhere that Maria was to be interred in Atlanta, in