Twisted: A Tracy Turner Murder Mystery Novel (The Tracy Turner Mystery Series Book 1) (17 page)

Do you think Doug killed Frank Walters?

“Oh Lord, no, Doug’s a big guy, but he’s a gentle soul. He couldn’t harm a fly. He’s a good man.”

“Elaine, promise me you won’t tell Doug about our conversation.”

“Of course Tracy, you have my word,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

I glanced at my phone. It was time for my meeting with Brett. I turned back to thank her. She was perched over the reception counter with the receiver at her ear and shot a look at me and then turned away.

I was frustrated that I had learned nothing new from our conversation. Except perhaps that Elaine had been a good friend to Barb and that she seemed fond of Doug. She also vouched for him, but, could she have been covering up for him? She was quick to get on the telephone had she relayed our conversation to him?

She thought nothing of taking the paper from the spa. Could she be capable of something more? She seemed angry at Frank. What if she had planted the evidence that incriminated Ryan? After all, they worked together and it would have been easy to access his locker. I pushed the thought out of my head. I was being paranoid again.

When I found the letter last night I was confident that it would lead me to the killer. My finger pointed strongly toward Doug. Did he kill Katherine before he came up to the room? He did have plenty of time. What was he doing in her room? What was he looking for? What would have happened if he found me in the room?

Elaine was convinced that he was a good man, but there was something he was hiding. I was in a rut. Perhaps the way forward would be to come clean with Brett and Millie and tell them everything that happened last night. Brett had been sweet this morning, but how would Millie take it?

I needed to find out from Brett what last night’s investigation revealed. He was the head of security and should have some leads or know something more. If the conversation went in the right direction, I would share what I found out with him. I wouldn’t say anything to Millie. Maybe Brett would be able to see things in a new light. What was the old saying, two heads are better than one?

We rendezvoused at Brett’s office as planned and together we went to Nom Noms. It was such a wonderful morning that for a moment I forgot the chaos of yesterday. It was nice walking side by side. I felt a sense of peace, and it felt right somehow.

“Here we are,” he said.

Floating in a fanciful daydream, I felt my face blush. He gave me a long look, as if he had read my thoughts and gave me a boyish grin.

“You look…”

“Yes?”

“Ah, there she is.” He waved at Millie across the room.

I pursed my lips. What was he about to say?

Millie sat at her usual spot in the café. Two bundles of newspapers were stacked on the buffet style seating next to her chair, the Florida Daily spread out in front of her.

When we came over she flicked the paper to the front page, the deaths of the Walters had made headlines, but Regency had not. There was only a passing mention of the resort. All credit to Millie who had been quick on her mental feet and worked her magic with the press last night.

She was pleased with the newspapers she had perused so far. Folding up the one she held, she placed it on one of the stacks. With a nod of her head, she beckoned us to sit down. She took a pristine white napkin off her lap and dabbed her lips.

She looked at me and then at Brett and back again at me. A wicked glint crossed her eyes, and she gave us a victorious smile.

“Tea, you two?”

“Black, two sugars,” he said.

“Nothing for me.”

“Blueberry muffin?”

“Uh-huh.”

She waved a waiter over and placed the order. We spoke in hushed tones. “When we met yesterday things were not as complicated as this. I thought that this would be an open and shut case, that the police would find the perpetrator quickly and this matter would somehow go away,” she began. “Now with Katherine’s death, everything is more complicated.”

“Do the police have any leads, Brett?”

“Nothing concrete.”

“What about Gina Fey?” I asked.

“She checked out late afternoon,” he said.

“After our chat,” I said, looking at Millie who nodded.

He rested his chin in his hand and stroked his cheek. “Gina ran a class that evening. Her alibi’s tight.”

I giggled. “I bet it is.”

His eyes twinkled and he opened his mouth to retort. A sideward glance at Millie and his face grew solemn. “The police are still convinced that Ryan was involved and are now speculating that he may have had an accomplice. They will search Katherine’s room today.”

My heart sank and my stomach felt queasy. “Search her room?”

“Dusting it down and seeing if anything’s amiss, the usual.” He shrugged. “Don’t really think that it will get them anywhere.”

“Tracy? Are you okay? You look pale child.”

“No, I’m fine. Maybe the milk I had this morning was off. It’s nothing. Go on, Brett.” He looked at me through knitted brows. “Really, go on,” I said.

“My money’s on the Burns fellow,” he said

“Burns?”

“Bruno Burns. Tracy here found the lead.” He smiled, a flash of gratitude in his eyes.

I swallowed hard and nodded, my head spinning. What if the Police found my prints at the scene?

“Burns is a loan shark who had been extorting money from Frank for a long time now. He is not on the radar because he operates under a number of aliases. Bruno Burns is what he is known as in this part of the world.” He showed us a photo of him on his phone.

“Yes, that’s the man from the video clips. There was also an Anthony B. Burns associated with Katherine’s company. The LinkedIn photo was different though.”

“I’ll follow that up,” said Brett, making a note of it.

“Do the police know about Burns?”

“The matter crosses state lines, so they won’t investigate. I have my people on it.”

“Your people? Who are your people?”

He ignored my questions.

“Surely the Police can support you on this?” Millie asked.

“The Burns matter is a lot bigger than this.”

“A lot bigger than two murders?” I asked.

“Small fish for the Feds.” He threw his hands up in the air. “When a matter is under Federal jurisdiction, things slow things down a whole lot. The local PDs don’t like to be seen as pandering to the Feds, nor can they stand in the way of the case. So they prefer to keep out of the way.”

“But, if we can somehow show that Burns did this, Ryan would be free to go right?”

“Well, no, not really, Tracy. You see the Burns connection may be circumstantial, a coincidence,” he explained. “The argument could still be made that he got Ryan to do the job. That they were in on it together. The evidence against Ryan is still very strong.”

“So in the meantime, an innocent man’s left to roast?” I puffed my cheeks out. “It does not seem fair.”

“It’s just how it is,” said Millie, almost to herself. She turned toward me. “And have you found out anything else, Tracy? Tracy?”

I couldn’t stand the thought of being caught as Ryan’s accomplice. I was his only hope. Despite my apprehension, this was a good time to come clean. I recounted what happened the previous night in Katherine’s room. Millie’s jaw dropped and was about to protest, but Brett tapped her hand and indicated that she should let me continue.

I told them how I saw Doug in the room, about the photographs and the letters, and how Frank fathered an illegitimate son who Doug had raised as his own.

We discussed what I learned for a while, then Millie said, “You two talk a bit more. I’ve got a meeting with Dee Dee Sparks.”

“The reporter from the Florida Sun?” I asked.

“You know her?”

“No, but I know of her. She’s a ball breaker, or so I’ve heard.”

“Yes, that’s the one. Claims she’s got an exposé on the Walters’ story.”

“Do I need to be there?” I asked, sitting up.

“I’ll be fine. The tournament kicks off this afternoon and you’ve got plenty to do,” she said.

I nodded. “Just…”

“I know, Tracy, just stick to the story. I got it.”

“You’ll be fine, Millie.”

Brett and I discussed the various possibilities and scenarios. He had a unique perspective, yet nothing really fitted. The more we spoke, the more my comfort level increased, so I told him about the text message.

“Here it is,” I said, showing him the message on my phone.

For a moment he was quiet. Then through gritted teeth he said, “This is exactly what I told you last night. This is way more complicated than I first thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said last night. This is a matter for the police. Leave it to them. They are more than capable of figuring this out.”

“And Ryan, what about Ryan?”

“Millie’s got him a good lawyer, hasn’t she? If he is innocent the jury will see it.”

“If? What do you mean if? He is innocent.”

“A gut feeling won’t do, Tracy. Leave it to us. We have experience in these matters. You have done more than your fair bit.”

“What are you saying?”

“Exactly what the text said. Stop snooping about.”

I felt tears of anger prickling my eyes and bit down hard on my lower lip. The last thing that I wanted him to see were tears.

“I can’t let anything happen to… What I mean is that the resort can’t be responsible if something bad were to happen to you.”

“What about Doug?”

“What about him?”

“Well, why was he in Katherine’s room for starters?”

“What were you doing there?”

“What the hell do you mean? Exactly what I told you, that’s what.”

“Okay, there’s no need to shout. We’ll find out what he was doing there. These things take time.” He nodded his head from side to side. “This has gotten out of hand. I can’t put you in harm’s way. If Millie was here she would agree.”

I pushed my hair back, drew my face into my hands, and pouted.

“Why didn’t you show us that before? It should have been the first thing you told us today.”

“It’s nothing. It’s only a text. No one can scare me, certainly not a silly text. This is some sad-ass bully. I have stood up to bullies before.”

“This is not a high school prank. Look at me, Tracy.” He held my hands in his. “You are seriously in a lot of shit and if you don’t see it you’re being childish.”

I shook his hands away and stood up from my seat. “I. Am. NOT. A. Child.”

“I didn't…”

I didn’t wait to hear the rest and stomped out.

For the third time in two days I had walked out of Nom Noms, annoyed, irritated, and confused. I kicked myself for having walked out like that, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't stand to look at him and wouldn't take this lying down. He had no right to speak to me like that. He had promised that he would sort things out, but now another person had wound up dead, and Ryan was still locked up.

I mean what was he doing? He was supposed to be the head of security, but if not for me he wouldn't have known even as much as he did. If he was doing his job, this would never have happened in the first place.

What was with him anyway? If he really cared about me, he would care for what was important to me: my friendship with Ryan. Maybe he was jealous of my relationship. There I go again assuming things. He was just being a guy, all macho, and I was reading too much into it.