A Dead Husband (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery) (28 page)

CHAPTER 27

Once in her room with the door closed, Jessica wriggled out of her Max Mara and tossed it into the trash can
. This was getting to be a very bad habit. Sitting on the edge of her bed she carefully removed the booties, then, just as carefully, stood and removed the remnants of her shredded pantyhose. The gallant police officer had cut away the pantyhose on her injured foot so she was able to get them off without disturbing the bandage he’d put on.  She decided to get out of the Spanx and put on a robe before taking a look at the cut on her foot.

Standing in front of the mirror naked, she hardly recognized the bedraggled woman staring back at her
. Battered and bruised from head to toe, her body now fully reflected the status of her mind.  Jessica pondered what she could do to get out of the hot water she was in.  Suddenly, the phone rang. She felt dread as she pulled on the robe and answered the phone.

“Jessica speaking.”

“Detective Hernandez here Ms. Huntington-Harper.” Jessica’s heart sank, picking up the pace as it dove into the pit of her stomach. 

“Yes, Detective Hernandez, how can I help you?” She moved to the chair near her bed and sat down, taking a c
ouple calming breaths.

“How about you and your friends going a few days without stumbling into a crime scene
. Two in one day has got to be pushing it even for you.”  He sounded like a man trying to be stern, but too tired to pull it off.

“
I went to El Paseo for lunch with a colleague. I wasn’t snooping.” 

“I know, I know
. But you must realize by now you’re in way over your head. You have got to lie low and let us try to sort this out.”

“I hear you,” Jessica replied, feeling dejected
. When Detective Hernandez spoke again he sounded more subdued.

“
That waiter your friend says she was with when her husband was killed turned up dead, along with his cousin.” 

“
I got your message from Officer Parker. Thank you for letting me know Jerry and Tommy were okay. Any idea what happened?”

“Nothing for sure,
yet.  They’d been dead for some time when they were found today. Whoever killed them cranked up the air conditioning so high it was like an ice box. That’ll make it harder to pinpoint time of death.  A real professional job, Ms. Huntington-Harper. A couple shots to the head fired at close range, execution style, with what the coroner says was most likely a 9 mm weapon.  They were roughed up pretty good before they were shot too. The apartment was thoroughly searched. Your hunch that Roger Stone had something someone wants sounds about right. Whoever did this is no pantyhose-wearing goofball.  We got a hit from his DNA, by the way. He’s Carlos Ramirez, a low life from the 18
th
Street Gang in LA. That group has been linked to gangs in Mexico and Central America, and to the Armenian Power. It’s not too big a stretch to make the connection from him back to your Mr. Bedrossian.”

“
I told you he’s not my Mr. Bedrossian, Detective Hernandez,” Jessica interjected wearily.

“My point is that you were lucky enough you weren’t hurt more seriously by that gangbanger
. Just because he’s not too bright doesn’t mean he’s not a nasty s.o.b. We’ve got LAPD keeping an eye out for him and we’re looking locally for him too.  If we can find him maybe he can shed some light on what’s going on.  More importantly, Ms. Huntington-Harper, is the fact that this guy in the Bruno Magli shoes seemed to think
you
might have what they’re looking for.  To me, he seems like a different class of bad guy altogether. The sort who packs a 9 mm rather than a Saturday night special picked up off the street somewhere, if you get my drift.  If those two officers hadn’t shown up when they did I doubt very seriously we’d be having this conversation right now. Have you got that?” Jessica was listening intently and trying to remain calm.  She gulped back the terror gripping her but didn’t say a word. 

“You still there Ms. Huntington-Harper?”

“Yes, I’m here. I’m just not sure what to say.”

“Just say you’ll stay out of it
. Stick close to home for the next few days.  Can’t you and your friend go play golf or go to the spa or do something there in Mission Hills?”

“Sure—oh no, wait
. The funeral’s tomorrow. Roger’s getting buried at Desert Memorial in the morning.  Can you have somebody there to keep an eye on things? What if the guy with a 9 mm or the one in the Bruno Magli’s or that tattoo-sporting 18
th
Street guy shows up tomorrow. Shouldn’t someone be there to apprehend them?”

“I doubt any of these guys is going to make such a public display, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Detective Hernandez there’s one more thing. What do you make of the fact that they knew where I was today? And how did they know about Eric-the-waiter?”

“My guess is somebody has been tailing you and your rent-a-sleuth ever since you showed up at your friend’s house on Sunday
when you bumped into that loser in the closet.  Or maybe they didn’t get interested in
you
until you showed up, looking like hell, and introduced yourself to Bedrossian’s girlfriend. Who also turns out to be the guy your friend’s husband was working for when he turned up dead. But how do I know?  You and your friends haven’t been too discreet in your inquiries the past few days.” He didn’t say it but Jessica knew what he was getting at. They had led the killers to that apartment on Avenida Caballeros. She said nothing. Finally Detective Hernandez broke the silence.

“Give me the info about the funeral service tomorrow and I’ll see if I can get a couple uniforms out there.”  He was getting his second wind and  revving back up into Cujo-mad-dog-barking mode
. 

Jessica gave him the info and hung up the phone, feeling sick about Eric-the-waiter
. She gently pulled the tape away from her foot and removed the gauze bandage.  Prepared for the worst, she was relieved that the cut was really pretty small, despite the fact that it had hurt like hell and bled all over the place.

Leaning back, Jessica
rested her head on the back of the chair.  Detective Hernandez had made his point. A couple of them, in fact.  But she and Jerry weren’t the only ones inquiring about Eric. She reran the timeline in her mind.  It was Sunday afternoon when she and Jerry ran into low life number one. They had presumed he was the culprit who killed Roger Friday night or Saturday morning. A .38 was a common weapon of choice for a street criminal, so that still made sense. 

W
hoever killed Eric and his cousin had used a 9 mm not a .38, so there was a second killer on the loose. No one knew, yet, when Eric and his cousin were killed. Nobody had seen either of them since Friday. Both were no shows at work on Sunday. So, it’s possible they were already dead by then. That would have been
before
their run-in with the guy in the closet, or Jerry’s visits on Monday to the restaurant where Eric worked and the apartment complex where he was killed. 

Laura hadn
’t mentioned Eric to the police on Saturday and Jessica hadn’t come clean to Hernandez about Laura’s liaison with Eric until
after
the encounter with the 18th Street gang-member on Sunday. That would have been the earliest point at which the police were alerted about the need to talk to a waiter named Eric. If both Eric and Joe had missed work, and were already dead, someone was way ahead of them.

A chill ran through Jessica as it became clearer to her that she and Jerry hadn’t led anybody to Eric
. In fact, it was only because of Jerry’s persistence in trying to reach the guy that the police had discovered the murdered men as soon as they did. Defiance was creeping back in as she pondered the notion that someone else might have tipped off Bedrossian about Eric.  How connected was he? He had eluded police for years, always a step or two ahead. Maybe he had a little help on the inside. Except for the fact that whoever got to Eric and his cousin Joe wasn’t just “connected” but clairvoyant. They got to Eric before the police even knew about him. 

“Come on in,” she said,
as a barely audible knock on the door ended her rumination. Laura entered the room, with an all too familiar look of anguish on her face.

“Jessica, I came to see how you’re doing
. I heard you got attacked again,  because of me and Roger. Some guy tried to steal your purse and hurt you. I feel awful. I should never have gotten you involved in this.”

“
Oh, God, Laura, none of this is your fault. Come on in and have a seat.  I was just taking stock of the damage done. A little cut on my foot and a couple skinned knees, that’s all. I can’t believe I let that bastard get a jump on me. If I’d been paying attention, instead of wandering aimlessly in the parking garage, I might have noticed someone lurking near my car. The nice suit and Bruno Maglis shouldn’t have made me any less wary.”

“That’s
awfully well-dressed for a purse snatcher.”

“Yeah, that’s what the bicycle cops on El Paseo said, too
. They thought they had a domestic dispute on their hands, especially once they took a good look at my face. That line of inquiry came to an abrupt halt when I put them in touch with my new bff, Detective Hernandez. I guess you heard about Eric and his cousin?”

Laura nodded, the anguish on her face deepening
. “What’s going on, Jessica?”

“Well, I ju
st got off the phone with Detective Hernandez, such a lovely man. They were both shot, but with a 9 mm instead of the .38 that killed Roger. The place was trashed in an effort to find whatever they’re after. He actually took a stab at blaming me and Jerry for leading the bad guys to them. I was just sitting here, doing the math, and it doesn’t add up. Those two men may have been killed before we, or the police, could have led anyone to Eric. It’s horrible what happened to Eric and his cousin, but we didn’t have anything to do with it.” She paused and smiled at Laura.

“We’ve all been pulled into something we don’t understand and didn’t ask for.” Jessica thought, but did not add, that it was such good fortune that Laura was still alive. A rush of gratitude flowed through her. Laura was alive. She was banged up a little more, but hell, she was alive too! 

“I am so glad you called me, Laura, because I would never have forgiven myself if you had gone through all of this by yourself
. Maybe there
is
something providential about my being here in the desert when all this happened. Like there was that day I met you at St. Theresa’s. I was such a little bitch and you saw through that somehow. You and Kelly were there for me when I was in the middle of something I didn’t understand or ask for then either. Years later I turn up on your doorstep with my life falling apart around me and there you are again. You know?”

“Yes, I know,” she said kneeling down next to Jessica and taking a look at the cut on her foot. “You’re lucky I’m a nurse.  I can fix this up for you after you take a shower. Does it hurt much?” she asked as she examined the cut more closely.

“Not much at all now
. I stepped on a piece of glass after making the decision that I had a better chance of getting away in my bare feet than in heels.  Not too smart, I guess.  I used one of them to bean the guy on his forehead, though.  Unfortunately, that only slowed him down for a second and it really pissed him off. Thank God, those two bicycle cops were making their rounds when they were.  If I had it to do over I’d just throw him my bag and be done with it, but I didn’t know that’s what he was after.  I’m pretty sure after getting one of my spikey Jimmy Choo’s between the eyes he had more than purse snatching on his mind.” 

“I’m glad
, too, those cops were there to help, Jessica.  Did they clean up your foot?  And your poor knees...”

“Office Parker did that
. A good job don’t you think? They didn’t even call the EMTs this time.”

“You fight off two thugs and avoid an ambulance trip to the hospital
.  Me, I take a nose dive just talking to the police and end up there!”  She shook her head, getting back up on her feet, a rueful smile on her face.  “You’re a tough cookie.  I’m just glad you’re on my side, Jessica.  You’re leaving a trail of injured bad guys in your wake. They’d better think twice before tangling with you.”

“I fight dirty, what can I say? Who knew cell phones and high heels could be such deadly weapons?  Let’s hope they don’t decide to shoot first and ask questions later.” For some reason this brought on a fit of the giggle
s, totally inappropriate, of course.

“I’m giddy with relief that you’re okay, Jessica and I’m so glad I’m not playing hide and seek with these creeps on my own
.  But, in God’s name, what do they want?”

“I was just sort of stewing about the same thing
. Not just what they want but how they think they know where to look for it!  I presume since Roger didn’t give them what they wanted Friday night, and that gangbanger didn’t find it at your house on Sunday, they’re pursuing other avenues.  Perhaps they think you have it, or had it, before passing it along to Eric Friday night, given the timing of your, um, encounter.”