The Ties That Bind (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 11) (8 page)

Chapter 16

When I got down to the lobby, it appeared as though some new guests were checking in. Mary Garcia was talking to them in her boisterous voice, showing them around. I slipped passed her unnoticed and went out the front entrance. There were a dozen Adirondack chairs situated on the wraparound farmer’s porch - all were empty.

I had walked up and down the halls of the Inn searching for Zoe for the past ten minutes. I had even poked my head into the kitchen, where Chef Glenn appeared to be prepping vegetables, probably for dinner. He hadn’t seen me, so I didn’t draw attention to myself. I had checked the laundry room, the dining room, and even the bar. No Zoe.

Perhaps she was taking a break in the room she shared with Graham, wherever that was. I assumed the family occupied the more private east wing of the house. I couldn’t imagine they’d want to live so close to the guests’ rooms.

I decided to take another stroll through the gardens. They were impressive. I had to believe that the Garcia family hired a landscaping company to come in and maintain the grounds. Must cost a fortune.

As I was admiring a butterfly bush, I heard someone coughing behind the hedges. As far as I knew, I was the only one in the garden but, clearly, I had company. I figured it was probably one of the landscape workers, as this masterpiece must be a full time job.

As I peered around the thick hedge, however, I drew in a sharp breath unable to believe my good luck. “Hi Zoe.”

She turned abruptly with a yelp. “Holy cow. You scared me.” She had a cigarette wedged between her fingers. She tried to hide it but there was no point. “You caught me.”

“I promise I won’t tell.”

She smiled wearily. “I’m not allowed to smoke in the house, well, actually, I’m not allowed to smoke anywhere.”

“If anyone finds out, it won’t be from me.” I made a gesture of zipping my lips shut.

Zoe released her shoulders and let out a breath. “I don’t even like smoking. It just helps me relax, you know?”

I nodded.

“So where’s your husband?” she asked, taking another puff.

“He’s reading a book up in the room. I wanted to get a little exercise after that huge breakfast. Thanks for making that fresh pot of coffee by the way.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, really. Just part of my job.” She reached into her pocket for the pack and held it out to me. “Want one?”

“It’s tempting,” I lied. “But I’d better not. My husband always gets angry with me. Hates the smell.”

She smiled in understanding. “I know what you mean. Graham feels the same way. Although he can smoke pot whenever he wants, and apparently that’s okay.” Her eyes got wide as she put a hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that, okay.”

I laughed quietly. “Seriously, you don’t have to watch what you say around me. I get it. Personally, I don’t know how you do it.”

She tilted her head and regarded me with caution. “What do you mean?”

“This whole lifestyle you have. Working all the time. Your husband’s family. Must get tiresome.”

She shook her head, but it wasn’t convincing. “It’s fine. I mean, sure I work long hours but at least we have a beautiful place to live. How can I complain?”

“And yet you have to sneak around just to have a smoke. Sounds heavy to me.”

She didn’t reply.

“So.” I leaned in and lowered my voice. “I heard about Perry’s fiancé. Awful thing that happened to her.”

Zoe nodded as she shuffled her feet. “She was a sweet girl. I mean, I didn’t know her that well, but I was happy to have someone around who understood what it’s like.”

“Were you surprised that Perry had asked her to marry him so soon?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I was. Perry had never had a girlfriend before. According to Graham, he’s not the dating type.”

“So do you have family or friends around?”

Zoe stubbed out the cigarette on the heel of her shoe and tucked it into her pocket as she peeked around the hedge. “I should get back to work. Please don’t mention this to anyone, okay?”

I gave her a conspiratorial smile. “I won’t say a word. In fact maybe tomorrow I’ll share a cigarette with you.”

Relief seemed to wash over her. “I’d like that. It was nice chatting with you, Mrs. Carter.”

“Please call me Sarah.”

“Okay, Sarah.” She held out her hand as if we were meeting for the first time. “I’m glad we ran into each other.”

When I shook her hand, I made a point to look her in the eyes, encouraging her to trust me. “Don’t work too hard, Zoe and don’t let Mrs. Garcia boss you around, okay?”

She laughed nervously. “Yeah, right. I don’t have much control over that.”

I watched as Zoe quickly marched back to the house like a woman late for an appointment. It occurred to me that, just like Perry, her life was under constant pressure.

When I got back to the room, Carter seemed happy to see me. “Did you find Zoe?”

“Yes. She was outside in the garden having a smoke. She was afraid I might tell someone so I put her mind at ease. I told her I’d join her tomorrow, same time same place.”

“To have a cigarette?”

“Yep.”

“You don’t smoke.”

“Not since high school. But she doesn’t need to know that.”

Carter shrugged. “Okay. If you think that by sharing a cigarette with her she’ll open up and talk to you, then go for it.”

“Did you get any more information about the plumber?”

“His name’s Larry Walters. I called his business number and spoke to his wife or secretary. She told me he always has lunch at Rudy’s, a hamburger joint in Harwich. I say we approach him there and offer to buy him lunch in return for some information.”

I checked my watch. “It’s twenty minutes to twelve.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Which means we need to leave right now.”

Chapter 17

Rudy’s hamburger joint looked like an old Taco Bell. The new owners had kept the original structure and only changed the sign. Inside was surprisingly clean aside from the overwhelming scent of fried food. The clientele were what you’d expect; a few working class men and a mother with her three toddlers running around with ketchup on their faces.

“He’s not here yet,” Carter whispered to me. “And I don’t see his van parked out in the lot.”

Despite the greasy nature of the food, my stomach growled in hunger. “Maybe we should order something and wait for him.”

He eyed the menu with skepticism. “Are you sure? I don’t know if I trust this place.”

“Well, maybe I’ll just order a milkshake to tide me over.”

As I was about to get in line at the counter, Carter made an inconspicuous gesture toward a man walking inside the joint. “There he is,” he muttered. “Let’s hang back and pretend we’re studying the menu.”

In the light of day, I got a good look at Larry Walters. He wore a greyish blue work shirt with matching grey work pants. His boots were covered with some kind of muddy substance. I didn’t care to venture a guess of what but I noticed a peculiar rancid smell as he passed in front of us.

Carter nodded toward the exit and I followed him outside. We decided to wait near his truck and approach him when he came back.

Five minutes later, Larry came out of Rudy’s with a paper bag and an oversized drink in his hand. He sucked on the straw as he walked back to his truck.

“Hey Larry, wait up.”

He turned abruptly to regard us with mild interest. “Yes?”

Carter reached into his back pocket and flashed him a badge. “I’m with the Department of Security. We’re conducting an investigation into Jason Black and we’d really appreciate your cooperation.”

He glanced around the parking lot with confusion then set his gaze back on Carter. “What’s this about?”

“We know you were at Buster’s Comics last night. Would you care to tell us about that?”

He took a few steps back, hugging the takeout bag to his chest like he was afraid we might steal his lunch. “Um, I wasn’t doing anything wrong if that’s what you mean.”

“Then what were you doing there?” Carter voice took on an official tone, like an FBI agent or Secret Service.

“Nothing illegal. Just having a friendly poker game with some buddies, that’s all.”

“Poker?” Carter raised an eyebrow. “You mean, illegal gambling?”

He blinked rapidly. “Am I in trouble?”

“As long as you answer our questions, we won’t need to take you in.”

“Take me where? Do I need a lawyer?”

Carter waved a dismissive hand. “We’re more concerned about the ringleader Jason Black.”

“What about him?”

“Aside from hosting poker games, we believe he may be involved in conspiracy to commit murder. What do you know about that?”

He nearly dropped his bag of food. “No way. All I know is the gambling. Whatever else he’s doing I have no idea.”

“Who are the other players involved?” Carter barked. “I need names.”

“I only know first names. The regulars are Joey, Ted, Hank and Bobby.”

“Anyone named Perry?” Carter asked.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Who’s Perry?”

“How about Reggie or Rory Perez?” Carter persisted. “Two brothers between the ages of sixteen and eighteen.”

He paused with furrowed brows. “Those were the boys who raped and killed that girl a few months ago.”

‘That’s right. What can you tell us about that?”

“Only thing I know is that the older brother, Reggie, had an ego, thought he could bluff his way through a game but he sucked at it. He was a donkey.”

“A donkey?”

“In poker it’s slang for bad player.”

Carter smiled. “Got it. Did Reggie owe someone money?”

“Yeah. He owed Jason around five or six grand.”

Carter and I exchanged a knowing glance. “Did Reggie ever pay it back?”

Larry shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“So it’s possible that Reggie could have done him a favor, instead of paying back the debt.”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you remember if Reggie ever talked about Nina Chapman, the girl he murdered?”

“Don’t think so.”

Carter nodded as he pat him on the shoulder. “Okay. I think that’s all we need for now. We really appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Walters. We’ll be in touch if we have more questions.”

“Does this mean no more poker nights?”

“I’m advising you to stay far away from Buster’s Comics. You seem like a nice guy and I’d hate to see you get arrested when we bring Jason down. It’s gonna get ugly. If you call and warn Jason about this, we’ll have to bring you in for aiding and abetting.”

“Believe me,” he said. “I won’t be going back there.”

Chapter 18

Back in the Buick, I inspected Carter’s so-called badge.

“You could get arrested for impersonating a government official,” I said.

“I don’t think so,” Carter said. “The Department of Security doesn’t even exist. I made it up.”

I laughed. “You made it up? Fooled me.”

“He didn’t even ask our names or insist on verifying the badge numbers.”

“Goes to show how easily people can be duped. You sold it.”

“Thanks.”

Twenty minutes later we were having coffee in Bernice’s kitchen as Carter explained the events of the past few days.

“Jason hosts poker games at the store,” he said, “and apparently Reggie Perez owed him thousands of dollars. The reason we can’t find any money might be because Reggie killed your daughter to pay off his gambling debt.”

Bernice stared at us with wide eyes. “How can we prove that?”

“We still haven’t been able to make a connection to Perry, but that might change tonight. We’re going to plant a bug on him, hoping he’ll make a call to Jason after we tell him the truth that we’ve been looking into Nina’s death.”

“You think it’s going to work?”

“We’re out of options.”

Bernie looked intently at Carter’s head. “What happened to you?”

He lightly touched the wound as if he’d forgotten all about it. “Oh this? I suppose I should tell you what happened last night. Or maybe I should let Sarah tell you.”

Bernie set her quizzical gaze on me.

I cleared my throat. “We were doing a stakeout across the street from Jason’s store last night. After the poker guests left, Carter went to investigate. Jason came up from behind and knocked him out cold for a few minutes then came to the car where I was waiting and threatened me.”

“Threatened you how?”

“He said if we didn’t stop bothering him, he’d shoot me in the knee.”

Bernice brought a hand to her mouth. “The last thing I want is for anyone else to get hurt. Maybe we should stop.”

“But we’re getting close,” I said. “The fact that Jason is scared enough to threaten us proves that you were right. At least now we know that there’s a good chance that Nina’s death wasn’t random.”

“What if you find out Perry is not involved, what then?”

I shrugged. “Then we keep looking for someone who had motive.”

* * *

It was almost three-thirty by the time we left Bernice’s and headed back to the Inn. “We’ll make it just in time for happy hour,” Carter said.

“Perry is going to think we’re raging alcoholics.”

“Probably.”

When we got back to our room, Carter placed the black box in my palm. “I want you to do a few practice runs. Pretend I’m Perry.”

I carefully removed the micro camera from its crib and held it between my thumb and index finger. “So all I have to do is place it on his watch?”

“Hopefully he’ll be wearing it.”

I reached for Carter’s hand and pretended to admire his Tag Heuer. “This is quite a rugged accessory you have.”

Carter looked down and smiled when he noticed the bug was already attached to the side of the watch. “Works like a charm, doesn’t it?”

“You weren’t kidding about the strong magnet.”

Carter removed the bug from his watch and handed it to me. “So you think you can do it?”

“No problem.” I tucked the little critter into my jeans pocket while making sure there weren’t any holes for it to fall through. “I guess it’s time to go down to the bar for a cocktail.”