Unraveled (16 page)

Her phone rang as she turned onto a large avenue that would take her toward the knitting shop and cottage. She wanted a few minutes of quiet knitting before she returned to her accounts.

“Hey, Kelly, how’re you doing?” Dave Germaine’s cheerful voice came over the phone.

“Doing fine, Dave. What’s up? Does Warner want something ?” She turned north on Lemay Avenue.

Dave laughed. “Warner always wants something, but that’s another story. I’m calling to see if you’re coming down for the joint project meeting this Friday? The mayor’s going to speak at lunch.” Dave laughed softly.

“Oh, joy. Rubber chicken and politicians,” Kelly joked. “I guess I can’t wiggle out of that.”

“Glad to hear it. Listen, I wanted to ask if you’d come over to the Metropolitan gym later that evening and play in a mixed-league volleyball game. Some of us from the project got together and started playing basketball after the meetings. Jan and Carla from the office suggested we do a pickup volleyball game, too, so the women could join in. The companies will all be mixed up among the teams. And it’s a fun way to blow off some recession frustration on the court. What do you say, Kelly? We could really use you.”

Kelly considered his suggestion while she pulled behind another car at a traffic light. “Boy, Dave, I haven’t played volleyball regularly since college. Just every now and then. I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“Hey, you told me you run every day and play softball and tennis. That means you’re better than ninety percent of the others on the court. Trust me.”

“That’s a slight exaggeration.”

“Naw, you’ll be great. Plus, we need another tall girl on the front line. Carla and Jan are athletic, but they’re not real tall.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a shot. I hope you and your teammates aren’t expecting a great performance. Have you got a good setter? Can the team pass?”

“Actually, we played at the gym last night, and we’re not bad. Plus it was fun to release some of those recession bad vibes.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Kelly said as she drove past residences followed by grocery stores and shops. Hearing Dave’s voice caused her to remember something. Something Dave had said.

“We’ll all go out to dinner afterward,” he added.

“That sounds good. Listen, Dave, do you remember our talking about Fred Turner a couple of weeks ago?”

“Sure. Why do you ask?”

“You know the police are investigating it as a murder now, did you know that?”

“Matter of fact, Warner mentioned it to me last week, I think. We were both wondering if Fred’s cheating finally caught up with him. Do the cops have any leads on who might have done it?”

Kelly weighed her next words carefully. “Actually, Turner’s ex-wife is at the top of that list right now. A close friend of mine says she’s known Renee Turner for years and believes she’s innocent. Unfortunately, Renee has no alibi. And she and Turner were in the midst of a bad divorce.”

“Ouch. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Yeah, we know. My friend asked me to check out some of Turner’s colleagues in Denver. She says Turner made a lot of enemies, and he did lots of deals in Denver. That’s when I remembered your saying something about working a deal with Turner, and how he tried to cheat everyone.”

“Yeah, he did. And your friend is right about Turner making enemies. I vowed I’d never work with the crook again. And so did Warner. You can ask him yourself. This town is filled with guys he tried to cheat.”

“Remember any more names?”

“Ohhh, Devries, Carruthers, Simon Contractors, even old man Overby got burned. And a few years ago, Art Housemann from up your way was working a deal with Bill Parosky from Northglenn. They were going to develop a strip mall in Brighton. They wanted to buy some land from Turner that they needed for a parking lot. He screwed them over. I remember Bill talking about how mad Art Housemann was. Parosky and I used to play ball at the gym and he told me what happened. Parosky said Art was so mad, he swore he’d get even with Fred one day.”

“Wow, they really doesn’t sound like Housemann at all,” Kelly said, steering the car around a corner. Remembering the comment from another Warner employee at the dinner reception last week, Kelly asked. “Do you know if Housemann and Turner had any past history together? Maybe that explains it.”

“I don’t know, Kelly. But Bill Parosky will know. He’s worked on deals with Art before. And Parosky should be at the Friday meeting. I’ll introduce you, and you can ask him yourself.”

“Hey, thanks, Dave. I appreciate it. I told my friend I’d see what I could find out this week, even though she’s grasping at straws. No matter how many people Fred Turner has cheated over the years, most people aren’t going to kill a man because he cheated them in a real estate deal, no matter whether it was years ago or last week.”

Dave paused on the other end of the line. “Don’t be too sure of that, Kelly. This is the West. People have been killing each other over land since the explorers first set foot on these mountains.”

“Is
that one of those recycled silk yarns?” Megan asked, looking across the knitting table. “I haven’t seen those for months.”

Kelly leaned back in her chair and checked the rows of reds, blues, and greens on her needles. “Indeed it is. I got tired of seeing it sitting in my stash basket and decided to do something with it. It’s a funny yarn and doesn’t work with everything.”

Jennifer looked up from the peach-colored top she was finishing. “It’s coming along nicely, Kelly.”

“Anything happening at the real estate office?” Megan asked.

“I wish it were, but buyers are few and far between. Except for investors. And they’re scooping up most of those foreclosure properties at bank sales. They’re getting some really sweet deals, too.”

“Hang in there, Jen,” Megan said, obviously worried.

“With the help of the extra university catering and my office broker, I’ll be okay. He’s been helping me out because the Turner deal fell through. He’s even paying me to go to Denver for him this week. There’s a real estate meeting on the mortgage loan modifications that are possible now. I’m going to take notes so I can make a presentation at the office next week.”

Kelly looked up from her colorful yarn. “That’s great he’s paying you. What day is the meeting?”

“This Friday. I plan to get on the interstate really early in the morning so I’ll have a fighting chance to be at the Denver Tech Center by eight thirty.”

“I have to be in Denver for a meeting on Friday, too. I’d planned to go down on Thursday and check into that Cherry Creek hotel, relax, and not have to fight the morning traffic. Why don’t you join me? I’ve already charged the room, so there’d be no cost to you.”

Jennifer looked up, clearly surprised. “That would be great. I’ve never been in that hotel because it’s too pricey, but I’ve been dying to see it.”

“You’ll love it,” Kelly said, returning to her stitches. “It’s a huge suite. There’s a heated Jacuzzi tub and fancy bathroom. Two double beds. Downy soft bedding to snuggle into at night. All sorts of goodies and stuff are in the fridge, and I have room service when I’m really dragged out from those meetings. Or, we can go out to dinner Thursday night. Lots of good cafés in Cherry Creek.”

“Okay, that is way too tempting for me to pass up,” Megan said, dropping her lime green yarn and the needles to her lap. “Can I invite myself along? I have to get to Denver to check out those last bridal shops or Mimi will have my head. I’d thought about going this weekend, but I didn’t want to go alone. This way, I’ll be with you guys Thursday night, then I can hit the shops all day Friday, while you’re both in meetings.”

“Sure, Megan. We’ll make it a working road trip. There’s plenty of room in that suite.”

“Thanks, Kelly, that will make the odious bridal shop search more bearable. I’m only doing it for Mimi. I’m convinced I won’t find anything I like. I’m about to take Lisa’s suggestion of a seamtress seriously. I might have someone fix up a simple white dress and call it good.”

Megan returned to her knitting while Kelly and Jennifer exchanged glances. “Don’t count out those bridal shops yet, Megan,” Jennifer advised. “You may walk in there and find the perfect dress and fall in love with it.”

Megan gave her a sardonic look. “Sure. When pigs fly.”

Kelly laughed softly at her friend’s stubborness. It was hard to change Megan’s mind once she had it set. “Well, even if you don’t find a dress on Friday, I can promise you entertainment Friday night. Some of the Warner people are playing in a volleyball game with some of the other Denver project developers. Kind of a morale builder, to blow off recession stress. Whatever. Dave Germaine said they needed more women players, so I joined up. Sounds like they could use you, too. You up for it, Megan?”

Megan’s head jerked up and the light of competitive fire Kelly was so used to seeing danced in Megan’s blue eyes. “Absolutely! I haven’t played volleyball since last year!”

Jennifer leaned toward Kelly, fingers still working the yarn. “She makes that sound like forever. I’ll bet she was the star player.”

“Don’t be silly,” Megan said, giving a dismissive wave. “It was a league. But I was just an all-star on my college team. In addition to softball and basketball.”

Kelly stared at her friend. “Whoa! You really were a triple threat.”

“Now you know why I’m scared of her,” Jennifer teased. “She could beat me up three different ways.”

Twelve

“Boy,
I love this bathroom,” Megan said, checking her face in the enormous mirror of the luxurious hotel bathroom. “A small army could put their makeup on in here.”

Granite countertops with double sinks filled one entire wall. Stylish brushed metal shelving was filled with superthick and fluffy towels. A huge Jacuzzi tub took up one whole end of the room. Brushed metal, mirrors, and green tinted glass—all gave the room a peaceful, tranquil look and feel. Perfect for relaxing in the tub.

“I don’t think the army uses much makeup, but I could be wrong,” Jennifer said from across the bathroom at another long granite counter with a large mirror. She gave her auburn hair another squirt of hairspray.

Kelly checked her image in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the side wall—hair, makeup, chic business suit. All was in order. “I’m ready, Jen. How about you?”

“All set.” Jennifer snapped her makeup case shut. “Let me get my briefcase, and we can join morning traffic.”

Kelly checked her watch. “We’re doing fine. With luck, I can drop you off at the Tech Center by seven thirty, then head downtown to the meeting. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“With Denver traffic, there are never any guarantees,” Jennifer said as she followed Kelly from the bathroom. “I can’t thank you enough for letting us stay here, Kelly. You’ve saved me at least two hours of sleep.”

“It was fun. Maybe you guys will join me again.” Kelly picked up her shoulder briefcase from the armchair in the seating area of the suite. A flat-screen television and entertainment center dominated the space.

Megan grabbed her purse from an end table beside the bar. “This is one pretty place,” she said, looking around the suite. “I will definitely come back if you’ll have me.”

“I’d love the company,” Kelly said as she slid into her stylish black raincoat. “Plus, it was a treat to try that new restaurant in LoDo. Beats the heck out of those rubber chicken dinners.”

Jennifer slid on her jacket. “Which bridal shops are you checking out first, Megan?” she asked as Kelly held the hotel room door open for them.

“I’m starting out nearby, actually. There’s one here in Cherry Creek. But first, I’m going to find a restaurant that specializes in breakfasts and have a great big plate of huevos rancheros.” Megan threw her jacket over her arm and sailed through the doorway.

“Oh, Lord, I don’t want to hear about it,” Jennifer groaned. “That used to be one of my favorites.”

“You could still have it, if you stay away from the beans and tortillas,” Kelly joked as they walked down the carpeted corridor toward the elevator.

“What fun is that?” Megan teased. “Listen, guys, I’ll probably be here when you return from your meetings. What time do we have to be at the gym tonight?”

“Eight o’clock for free play and then the game starts. But this is just casual, so I have a feeling they won’t be holding a time clock on anyone.” Kelly pushed the elevator button and watched the doors slide open.

“When are your meetings over?” Megan stepped inside first.

“Mine should be finished by five, I hope,” Kelly said. “How about yours, Jen?”

“Oh, certainly by five. Real estate agents like to head back to their offices before they go home. I’ll wait for you in the office building lobby. Call me when you’re getting close, and I’ll go outside.”

The elevator hummed as it rode downward, then the doors slid open. “Sounds like a plan,” Kelly said as she stepped out into the elegant hotel lobby.

“My car’s parked in back, so I’ll see you guys later,” Megan said, turning toward another hallway.

“Good luck, Megan,” Kelly said as she and Jennifer headed toward the glass revolving entry doors.

“Find something this time,” Jennifer called over her shoulder.