Thou Art With Me (17 page)

“Ready?” Jeremiah asked as he finished his third cup of coffee.

“As I’ll ever be, I guess,” she admitted.

“Fair enough.”

He stood up and once she had done the same he took her hand. She was getting seriously used to that kind of contact between them, and she was starting to realize that it might be hard to go back to their real lives when this was over.

They didn’t have time to head back to their bungalow so they went straight to their morning session.

Mark felt like the walking dead, and he was sure he didn’t look much better. He had received the email from Jeremiah with the information about past guests. Sifting through it to find people who were well off was not going to be an easy task. Since this wasn’t a traditional case he couldn’t just pull people’s financial records. As much as his captain wanted Malcolm’s killer found, he’d been clear about that this morning.

So, Mark had done the next best thing. He was sitting at the kitchen counter at Geanie and Joseph’s, going over the information with Joseph. Most of the names on the list were people who lived within a hundred mile radius or so. For now he wasn’t even bothering to look at the few outliers who lived farther away.

Even though Joseph was very down to earth and casual in his attitudes about his own fortune he was proving to be an invaluable asset simply because of the number of people he met through charity functions. In addition, Joseph had his own charity, the day-to-day operations of which were overseen by other people, but he’d been heavily involved in fundraising for it at the beginning and was in a position to know who had money just lying around.

They sipped coffee and made small talk while Joseph went over the names one by one. By the end he had a list of ten people. Of the ten, he had put stars by two of them.

“What do the stars mean?” Mark asked.

“Chester is extremely gullible, so if they’re running some sort of scam he would be an easy target.”

“Okay, and the other one?”

“Wilson, it’s just a hunch actually.”

“Tell me.”

“Every year he and his wife are huge contributors to this one theater. They’re the most loyal of patrons. The annual fundraiser was last weekend. I know that they were in town, and I also know they didn’t go. The theater manager also called me two days ago to try and get me to increase the size of our donation. It seems they didn’t do quite as well as they normally do.”

“So, you think Wilson didn’t chip in this year?”

“Yeah.”

“Guy could have had an off year last year and couldn’t afford it.”

“No, Eric was spending it up at a charity auction about a week before he went to this retreat center.”

“Interesting.”

“I’d say so.”

“Maybe I should give Mr. Wilson a call and ask him how he liked his stay,” Mark said, pulling his cell phone out and checking the number on the sheet.

Joseph shook his head. “You’ll never reach them that way. There’s an army of assistants standing between the Wilsons and the public at any given time.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

Joseph got up and came back a few moments later with his phone. “Calling Marcia direct.” He dialed and then put the phone on speaker so Mark could hear as well.

“Joseph, how are you doing?”

“Good Marcia. You?”

“Not bad. Why are you calling?”

“I was surprised I didn’t see you and Eric at the theater last week, just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, no one was sick or anything.”

“Oh, no, nothing like that.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Say, while I’ve got you on the phone I’ve got another question. A friend of mine is thinking about hitting this retreat center out on the reservation. I think Eric’s been there or was going there and I wanted to know what he thought of the staff. My friend is pretty particular and he can be a bit of a pain if he doesn’t get along with the people.”

A torrent of profanity that shocked even Mark came pouring out of the phone’s speaker.

17

Mark listened in amazement and Joseph winced as the profanity kept going. Finally Marcia stopped.

“So, the staff aren’t so great then?”

“Hah. You know, it’s no use keeping it a secret anymore. Eric and I are getting a divorce.”

“What? No, I thought you two were doing okay?”

“Yeah, if by okay you mean I cleaned up his messes and covered up his gambling addiction for the past few years. That retreat center was his last shot at redemption. He went there to kick the gambling habit.”

“I’m guessing that didn’t go so well.”

The laughter that followed was harsh. Even Mark cringed. He would not want to be Eric in that divorce. “What do you think of a center treating gambling addicts just two miles away from a casino?”

“I take it he found his way there?”

“You better believe he did. And then he lost everything.”

“Everything?”

“Every dime that was liquid.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Marcia.” Joseph said, grimacing as he made eye contact with Mark.

“So, tell your friend to steer clear. I’m pretty sure that someone at that center made it easy for him to escape and land us in this mess.”

“I will tell him, thanks for the heads up. And for what it’s worth, I’m very sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said, sounding suddenly quite smug. “I’m the one with the best lawyer.”

“Right. Good luck. I’ll see you on the other side.”

Joseph hung up.

“Well, that was awkward,” Joseph said.

“Yes, but your hunch was spot on. You ever think about becoming a cop?”

“No, thank heavens. I respect what you do, so much so that I know not to even attempt it myself.”

Mark laughed. “At least we have something to go on now.”

“Wilson was there for a different retreat than Malcom was.”

“Yeah, but they were both rich and both at a retreat alone. I’m thinking that’s not a coincidence. Think I have a shot at talking to Wilson himself?”

“I doubt it. I’ll see if I can connect, though. It’s easier with Marcia, she and I knew each other when we were kids.”

Mark’s mind was spinning as he was thinking about what they’d just learned. He felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle, though, somehow. Enticing someone to go gamble when they were already likely to want to gamble was sleazy, but not exactly illegal. There had to be an angle he was missing.

“So, I hear you and Traci and the kids are going to the Valentine’s dinner at the church.”

“Yup, and I hear that you and Geanie are not.”

“That is correct.”

“So, are you whisking her off to dinner in some five star restaurant in Paris?”

“No, no five star restaurants.” Joseph said, sipping his coffee.

“A private island somewhere?”

“Nope, no islands, private or otherwise.”

“Some elaborate themed dinner locally with choirs waiting to burst into song?”

Joseph chuckled. “No themes, no choirs.”

“Okay, I give up then. What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

“Something incredibly romantic.”

“I’m listening,” Mark said, thoroughly intrigued now.

“We are unplugging completely, no phones, no computers, we’re going to disconnect ourselves one hundred percent.”

“And?”

“And we’re going to go camping for the weekend.”

Mark stared at him in shock. “You are kidding, right?”

“No, what makes you say that?”

“Camping? Really? You have all the money in the world and your idea of a big, romantic weekend is to go camping?”

“Geanie and I all alone with zero distractions, yes it is,” Joseph said, a smile on his face.

“You realize this time of the year it’s going to be freezing at night?”

“Yes, it is,” Joseph said, his smile getting even bigger. “But that’s what sleeping bags built for two are for.”

“And?”

“And a portable battery operated electric heater or two.”

Mark laughed and shook his head. “Well, I hope you have fun.”

“How can I not? Oh, and Geanie called before you got here and let me know that we’re babysitting the weekend after so that you and Traci can get out of town.”

That had been quick. Mark shook his head in amazement. Traci must be needing a break even more than him.

“So, where are you two going to go?”

“I don’t know yet, but I know where we’re not going.”

“Where’s that?”

“Camping. Traci would kill me.”

After lunch they had a free session before they had to go to the ballroom dance lesson. They headed back to the bungalow where Cindy changed clothes while Jeremiah returned a call from Mark.

“How did Mark sound?” Cindy asked as Jeremiah ended the call.

“Asleep. It sounded like I actually woke him up.”

“At lunchtime? He must have been up all night.”

“He certainly sounded like it. He did have some information. A man Joseph knows named Eric Wilson was here for the most recent retreat targeted at breaking gambling addictions.”

“So, he was a gambler?”

“Apparently. And while he was at the camp he managed to make it over to the casino and lose a small fortune.”

“I told you it was weird that they have the retreat at a resort two miles from a casino.”

“They probably figure that where there’s a casino, there are people addicted to gambling,” Jeremiah said.

Cindy rolled her eyes. “Yes, and from that angle it makes perfect sense. We’ve seen their security around here, though. It wouldn’t take that long to walk to the casino and it would just be a couple of minutes by car. So, as long as they left the resort, which would be simple, it would be easy to get to the casino. It’s not like they’re putting people in more of a lockdown situation. As rehab places go this would have to be one of the worst.”

“Agreed. Mark’s checking on some other guests and he’s getting Malcolm’s wife to help him take a closer look at all their accounts, see if there was any unusual activity or anything that would connect to the casino even in a roundabout way.”

“I don’t understand how any of this leads to people having clandestine meetings in the middle of the night and Malcolm ending up dead.”

“Neither do I, yet, but at least it’s more than we had yesterday.” Jeremiah picked his phone back up off the table and pushed a button.

“Who are you calling?”

“Mark.”

Before Cindy could say anything else Jeremiah was talking to the detective. “Something Cindy just said got me thinking. Cars aren’t allowed here at the resort, so how did Malcolm get here? Uh huh. Okay, thanks.”

Jeremiah hung up and tossed the phone back down.

“Well?”

“Malcolm’s wife only drives in her neighborhood. He had an arrangement with a local company for discount transportation when he needed it. The driver dropped him off at the resort. He was scheduled to pick him up, but two days before the end of the retreat a message was left canceling his pick up service. His wife initially called the company when he was late getting home and then starting calling the resort.”

“So, if he went to the casino he either walked or someone drove him.”

“Yes.”

“I still just don’t see how that all fits,” Cindy said, feeling frustrated.

“It wouldn’t even have been that questionable. After all, Malcolm wasn’t here for the gambling addicts retreat.”

“I just wish we could push, put a little pressure on someone to talk.”

“Unfortunately we do that and we risk all of them running, or worse,” Jeremiah said.

Cindy shivered. What was wrong with her? For some reason she was having a hard time taking the threat seriously which wasn’t normal. Maybe it was because she hadn’t actually seen a body and without that it was almost as if it was just a story someone else was telling her or wild speculation with no basis in fact.

Or maybe it was the fact that she was so totally consumed with figuring out stuff between her and Jeremiah that it was hard to think about anything else. What was it Mark had said when he dropped them off?

For goodness sake, take the time to figure out what the deal is with you two. It would save us all a lot of grief.

She felt like she had taken that to heart. She had been doing a lot of thinking. Trouble was, it was probably time for a lot of talking and they weren’t getting many opportunities when they were alone to discuss something other than solving Malcolm’s murder.

She shook her head. Even that sounded cold to her, the way she was thinking about it.
Calm down, you’re just winding yourself up.

She took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. It was time to face the music. Literally.

“We don’t really have much occasion to go dancing,” Cindy said, cheeks flushing.

Jeremiah couldn’t help but smile. Clearly she was more than a little self-conscious about the entire thing.

“Then that is something that you need to change,” Dimitri said.

They were standing in the starting hold position with their bodies lightly touching. As it was, according to Dimitri, they were not nearly close enough. They had already spent twenty minutes following Dimitri and learning to do the basic steps on their own. Now they just had to put them together.

“Now, slow, slow, quick, quick, slow,” Dimitri said.

They moved together, doing the right steps, but it was stiff and awkward. They kept it up for a minute as they maneuvered carefully around the room.

“Okay, stop,” Dimitri said, sounding frustrated. “You’re doing the steps but you’re missing the entire point of the dance. It’s like you’re afraid to touch each other and you can’t be afraid. Look, Dr. Carpenter warned me that this might be an issue for you two, so let’s try to make this a game, shall we?”

“How?” Cindy asked.

Dimitri walked over. “I will make you a little bet, yes? I bet you that I can turn you on faster than you can turn Jeremiah on.”

“What?” Cindy bleated, sounding fully panicked.

“Look, you are the woman, the seductress. It should be easy for you to turn any man on. You should be able to do it with a simple swish of your hip, with the sweep of your leg, with the passion in your eyes. It should be much harder for the man to do the same to you, yes? But I bet I can get your interest, faster than you can get his.”

Jeremiah wasn’t sure if he was amused or offended by the entire situation. He could dance and dance well. He’d grown up in Israel and there was always dancing at celebrations. He’d taken more formal dance training as an adult. It helped with strength, agility, balance. And it never hurt to be able to know how to do it if you needed to attend an embassy gala, though most of his work had kept him much more in the shadows than that.

“What are we betting?” Cindy asked.

“A bottle of champagne to the winner?”

“Make it a bottle of sparkling cider and a box of chocolates and you’re on,” Cindy said, gritting her teeth.

Dimitri turned to Jeremiah with an apologetic expression. “My friend, I apologize, but I am doing this for your benefit.”

Jeremiah nodded. “I understand. It should at least prove...interesting.”

Cindy’s throat was dry as Dimitri started the music and then approached her. He took her in his arms and held her body close to his, much closer than she and Jeremiah had been. “Our bodies should mold to each other, move together,” he said. “Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow.”

Then they were moving across the floor. At first it was a bit jerky, but the tighter he held her, and the more she forced herself to relax, the smoother their gait became until it felt like they were moving as one person.

“Trust me. I am the man, I will lead. You will know through my movements where you are to go, what you are to do,” Dimitri said softly, his voice almost hypnotic. “Close your eyes.”

“But-”

“Ssh, just feel the music. You need to let go.”

Cindy closed her eyes and within moments her other senses seemed to spring to vivid life. And for just a moment she let herself forget that she was dancing with Dimitri. And in the next moment they glided to a gentle stop.

“What is it?” she asked, opening her eyes.

“One minute, fifteen seconds,” Dimitri said with a grin. “Let us see you beat that.”

“But, how will you know how Jeremiah is feeling?” she asked.

“You will know, and in the way he moves I will know as well,” Dimitri assured her.

Her heart was hammering as she walked over to Jeremiah. He took her in his arms and she pressed her body against his. She tried to think of the things that Dimitri had said about the swish of a hip and the sweep of a leg.