An Appointment With Murder (12 page)

“So Beth was spying on me?” I asked, laughing at the preposterous notion. “What the hell was she expecting to find?”

“We were hoping to find proof that you were having sex with your clients, Sarah, one client in particular.”

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you. That was one of the main reasons I hired Beth, to keep those kinds of people out.”

“We know, Sarah. A few weeks into the job, Beth realized your business was legit. In fact, she respected you very much. She decided she liked working for you and wanted to stay on.”

“Who hired you to plant cameras? Why would they care so much to go to all this trouble?” Max asked.

“One person, actually. You understand I can’t give you her name, but she thought her husband was cheating on her with a massage therapist and hired me to get the proof. So, of course, I hired Beth. Beth confirmed a few weeks later that the woman’s beloved husband kept his hands to himself.”

Everything suddenly made perfect sense. Beth put the camera in my room. Jeff Gardner’s wife must have been the one who hired Carter.

“The woman was satisfied with the photos, paid me, and it was done.”

“But Beth is no longer with us,” Max interjected. “So where does that leave us now?”

“Let me finish, will ya? About a week and a half ago Beth sent me a card. As you figured out, that’s how we set up our meetings. She said she needed my advice about something. I sensed that she might be working on a little side job of her own.”

“And?” Max prodded.

“Well, I don’t know. She never showed up that night. And I never saw her again.” There was a brief silence before Carter continued. “When she didn’t show, I sent her another card, this time to the office.” He shifted his attention back to me. “At this point, I still wasn’t sure what had happened. But I did some digging and found out that Beth had been killed, apparently the same night she was supposed to meet me. But I’d already mailed the card, and I had a feeling that if it ever got into Max’s hands he’d somehow figure it out. So I decided to show up to see if I was right.”

“Actually, Sarah told me about the card, not the other way around.” Max gave me a quick smile.

A cell phone rang and Max quickly pushed away from the table, stood, and pulled the phone out of his pocket. He looked back as he started to walk away and raised the index finger of his free hand.

Carter looked across the table at me.

“How long have you known Max?”

“About a week. Why?”

“No reason. Just wondered.” He pointed a bony finger at me. “By the way, I’m impressed with you, Sarah. You have a good head on your shoulders, I can tell. If you ever want to make some extra money on the side I could really use someone like you.”

“No thanks, Carter. I’m all set. Really. I don’t think I’m cut out for your kind of work. Besides, look where it got Beth.”

“I’m still not convinced her working for me had anything to do with her death, Sarah.”

“Of course you’re not. Keep telling yourself that, Carter, and maybe the guilt will go away someday.” I glared at him.

“Ouch,” he said, looking surprised.

Max returned to the table and nodded to me. “Let’s go, Sarah, we’re done here,” he said, not even looking at Carter.

As I followed him out, I could tell he was distressed about something.

“Hold on a minute. What’s up with you, Max?”

He turned and looked at me. I stopped, waited for him to say something.

“Something I need to do,” he finally said. ”I’ll explain later. Call you in a few hours, okay?”

He turned and jogged towards his car. Whatever he was up to couldn’t wait.

“Fine, I’ll be at home,” I said, not sure if he even heard me.

* * *

I sat in my car after Max left and pondered the business with Carter and Beth. Carter was right. Beth certainly had been good at what she did. Even I’d been duped, apparently. I’d never have guessed that Beth had been hired to spy on me. But it still didn’t make sense. There had to be more to the story. Beth was dead, and there had to be a reason for that. My cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse. The number wasn’t familiar.

“Hello?” I said.

“Sarah? It’s Melissa. Hey, I’m sorry to bother you.” Her voice sounded strained.

“Melissa, are you okay?”

“Can you come over to my house right now?”

“Okay. Yeah. I can be there in ten minutes. Is something wrong?”

“Please. Just come. I’ll see you when you get here.”

I started the engine and drove straight to Melissa’s. I ran to the front door and was about to knock when she opened it. I could see she’d been crying.

“What’s happened, Melissa?” I asked, stepping inside.

“I got home from work early today,” she said, gesturing towards her bathroom. “I was brushing my teeth when I heard the noise.”

“What kind of noise?”

“I’m positive I heard someone in Beth’s room.”

“Did you see anyone?”

She shook her head and looked down. “No. I was so scared I locked myself in the bathroom and called the police.”

“So what happened?”

“The police searched the house and found nothing,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

I sat next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “Your roommate died a week ago. I can understand your being a little on edge. But,” I added, thinking back to my own recent experience with home invasion, “if you say someone was in your house, I believe you.”

She managed a weak smile and got up from the couch. “I think, whoever it was was looking for something. Cause if they wanted to hurt me, they would have done it as soon as I came home don’t you think?”

“What would they be looking for?”

“Something of Beth’s. Like I said, I heard someone in her room.”

“Did you notice if anything was missing?”

She shook her head. “It’s not like I’ve taken an inventory of everything in her room, so it’s hard to say. But nothing looked out of place.”

I leaned back on the couch and thought for a moment. “I had a similar thing happen yesterday,” I said. “I came home and was convinced someone had been through my desk and filing cabinet, but nothing seemed to be missing.”

“Do you suppose whoever killed Beth is looking for something?”

“Maybe. But what? What could they possibly find in my house that would have anything to do with Beth?”

She shrugged and shook her head.

“Do you have someplace else to stay tonight?” I asked her.

“Yeah. I already called my parents. I’m going to stay with them for the weekend.”

“Good. I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay here alone,” I said, looking around. “Max and I saw Carter today. Beth was working on something no one knew about. Not even him. So we’re back to square one, I’m afraid.”

“Do you think it has something to do with those photos you showed me?”

“I don’t know. Beth took those photos to prove there was no hanky-panky going on in my therapy rooms. A client’s wife hired Carter to find out, and Carter hired Beth to get proof.”

“Well, at least that explains the photos. But it still doesn’t explain why she was killed. Would you like some tea?” she asked, starting towards her kitchen. “It’s the least I can do since you came all the way over here.”

“Thanks anyway, but I have to go. My husband is on his way back from Miami.”

She stopped, turned back, and walked me to the door. “Promise you’ll let me know whatever you find out?”

“Sure,” I said. She waved from the window as I walked down the front steps.

As I walked back to my car, I noticed a new message, a rather long one as it turned out, on my cell.

It’s Max. Where are you? Sorry about leaving in such a hurry. I have some new information. Call me as soon as you can. And don’t go back to your office until you talk to me.

I called him, but the phone just rang. Why wasn’t he answering?

What did he mean about not going to the office? Did he think I was in danger? If so, maybe Gabby would be, too. I started my engine and speed dialed her. Thankfully, she answered on the first ring.

“Gabby, where are you?”

“Just left the office. On my way home. Why?”

“I got an odd message from Max warning me to stay away from the office. Did you notice anything strange before you left?”

“Not sure what you mean by that. Nothing out of the ordinary. What’s going on?”

“Look, I’m getting a little freaked out. Can I meet you at your house so we can figure out what to do?”

“I guess. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Great. I’m heading there now.”

I dialed Max’s number again with the same results as before. I decided not to leave a message.

As I drove to Gabby’s, I forced myself to think back to the night Beth died. Was there anything I missed, anything out of place, something I might have seen that I’d dismissed not thinking it important at the time?

There was a reason Beth had been killed. She must have known something. My mind was running in circles, but kept coming back to one person. Jeff Gardner. He’d been in the shower jerking off, presumably. But as I thought back to that night, I’d been in the laundry room for at least five minutes. Would that have been enough time for him to slip out of the bathroom and down the hallway, strangle Beth, and slip back into the shower and be pleasuring himself when I finally walked in on him? Was it possible? And when I found Beth dead in her chair, could it have been him who came up behind me and knocked me out, and then called 911 to cover himself? The big question still remained, “Why?”

I arrived ahead of Gabby and waited at her front door. She pulled into her driveway less than a minute later.

“Sorry to alarm you,” I began, as Gabby got out of her car and started towards me, her greeting lost as I continued to run at the mouth, “but I’m getting a bad feeling about all of this. I just came from Melissa’s and her place was broken into, too. Someone is looking for something, but I can’t figure out what the hell it could be.”

“Just try to calm down. We’ll figure it out,” she said, searching for her house key.

“Let me try Max’s cell again,” I said, dialing his number and getting his voice message for the third time. “Damn it. What the hell happened to him.”

“What’s all the fuss? What’s got Max calling you with dire warnings?”

“He was kind of vague, but it seems he’s found out something. He said to stay away from the office. I have no idea why. And now he’s not answering his phone.” I was talking so fast I ended a bit breathlessly.

“Okay, Sarah. Just simmer down. Let’s go inside and have a drink while we wait for Max to call you back.”

“Okay, but I can’t stay long. Daniel is on his way back from Miami.”

“Hey, that’s odd.”

“What?”

“The door’s already unlocked. I’m positive I locked it this morning when I left.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Of course I am.”

“Then someone’s broken into to your place, too.”

Gabby’s expression turned sour.

“This is bullshit! I hope the son of a bitch is still in there so I can wring his friggin’ neck.”

“No, Gabby. Call the cops,” I pleaded.

“Screw that shit. I’m going in.”

There was no way I could’ve stopped her even if I’d wanted to.

I followed her through the front door and stood looking around while she continued down the hall to her bedroom. She returned with a blank look on her face.

“Nothing seems out of place,” she said, continuing to look around.

I hadn’t noticed I was holding my breath until she looked at me and we both started laughing.

“Thank God,” I said. “False alarm.”

“Yeah. Whew. I was getting ready to pound on someone.”

“I need a drink, Gabby. But perhaps I’d better stick to something non-alcoholic. I’ve gotta drive home soon,” I reminded her.

Gabby headed towards the kitchen and I started to text Brian to let him know I’d be home by five-thirty. When I looked up, I saw Gabby standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She'd stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed on something I couldn’t see. A chill ran down my spine. What was she looking at?

“You okay?” I called out.

When she didn’t respond, I cautiously made my way over to her. When I turned the corner to see what she was staring at, my heart dropped into my stomach.

Max was sitting at her kitchen table. I looked down and there was a gun lying in his lap.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Gabby shrieked.

Max was looking at us calmly. “You know exactly why I’m here,” he said.

I noticed a vein pulsing in his neck as he glanced at me, then back at Gabby. I stood with my mouth still hanging open.

“I don’t have a clue why you’re sitting in my kitchen with a gun, but you’d better start explaining,” Gabby shot back.

“Why’d you do it, Gabby?” Max almost whispered.

“Do what?” Gabby shouted and put her hands up.

“You killed her,” Max said, swallowing hard. “And now I can prove it.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gabby said, crossing her arms. “You’re insane, and I want you out of my house right now.”

“Max, what the hell is going on?” I said, not wanting to move any closer to him. I kept a watchful eye on the gun. Where’d he get it? And was he planning to use it? He’d broken into Gabby’s house and was now accusing her of murder. Had he lost his mind?

“I know exactly what I’m talking about. I found this in your basement.” Max pulled a small pink cell phone out of his jacket pocket. “Look familiar?”

My vision went slightly blurry, and I felt like I might faint. I leaned against the wall to keep my knees from giving out.

“Max, why are you doing this?” I pleaded weakly. “Gabby would never hurt anyone. But you, I’m not so sure about you anymore.”

“Well don’t take my word for it,” he said, extending his hand as if to offer me the phone. “Look at the images on Beth’s cell. They speak for themselves.”

Before I could move towards him, Gabby lunged forward and grabbed the phone out of his hand. With fury I never saw coming, she threw it down on the tile floor, shattering it to pieces.

“I rest my case,” Max said softly.

“You’re a liar, Max. Why are you doing this to me?” Gabby pounded the table, but Max brought the gun up and pointed it at her chest.