An Appointment With Murder (9 page)

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, getting up and gathering my things. As I walked past her, I planted a big kiss on Gabby’s forehead.

“All kidding aside, Gabby, you’re the best, you know that? What would I do without you? Life would be so incredibly dull.”

* * *

At home, I showered and changed into a casual but stylish outfit of dark indigo jeans, an ivory cowl neck sweater, and high-heeled black boots. Inspecting myself in the mirror, I decided that a few more miles on the treadmill each day were in order. Checking the clock and finding I still had an hour to kill, I paid some bills and checked my e-mail. Brian had texted me earlier to say he was eating at Nick’s, so I didn’t have to worry about feeding him. A good thing, considering I’d neglected the grocery shopping. At six-forty five, I grabbed my purse and keys and headed out the door.

Angelina’s was the kind of place you take someone on a first date to make an impression. There were no more than a dozen tables in the whole place, over which were draped crisp white tablecloths. Each table had a fresh flower arrangement and votive candle. The place oozed romance, and I began to feel a bit intimidated. But if it had been a mistake to accept Max’s invitation, it was too late to back out now.

“Hey, stranger.”

Hearing Max’s voice behind me, I turned just as he came through the door. “Hey, yourself,” I said.

When he reached me, he kissed my cheek, then turned to the hostess and gave her a look that brought a smile as she showed us to a table near the back. Max pulled out my chair.

“Thank you,” I said, lowering myself demurely into it.

Max sat across from me and smiled. His eyes glimmered in the candlelight.

“You look beautiful, tonight,” he said, his smile never fading.

“Thanks,” I said, averting my eyes. “You, too. I mean, you look handsome.”

He laughed quietly. When the waiter arrived, he ordered a bottle of red wine without so much as glancing at the wine list. When the waiter departed, and he turned his attention back to me.

“You’ve been here before,” I said.

“Is it that obvious?” He smiled. “I might have been here a few times before.”

“Well, I appreciate the invite. I can’t remember the last time I was taken out for a fancy dinner.”

The waiter materialized with a bottle of wine and two long stemmed glasses. Max ordered appetizers and two entrée specials of lasagna with some kind of special cheese. The details of the meals escaped me, my mind being preoccupied with the awkwardness of the situation in which I found myself.

“Max, I had a talk with Melissa yesterday,” I said.

“Melissa? You mean Beth’s housemate?” He sipped his wine.

“Yes. I stopped by her house. She told me all about the business you had. And the special jobs Beth did for a guy named Carter.”

Max’s expression instantly changed to one of disbelief. He set down his glass and leaned across the table.

“Why would she tell you about that?” His voice was low.

“She’s frightened about something, Max. Beth was working on something for him right before she died. Would you know how to find him?”

Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I haven’t seen or spoken to that bastard in months,” he said, trying to keep his voice low as he straightened in his chair. “I thought Beth had stopped working for him.”

“Guess the money was too tempting.”

“Did Melissa know anything about her last job?”

“No. But if we could find Carter, we might be able to get him to tell us.”

“Won’t be that easy. He’s the kind of guy doesn’t like to be found. But if you think it might help us find her killer, I’ll find a way.”

The waiter reappeared with our appetizers. We ate in silence for a few minutes, not making eye contact.

“Hey, Sarah?” he said.

I looked at him. His expression was sullen.

“I’m so sorry you got mixed up in this mess. And I’m sorry I didn’t mention the nature of my business before. I guess I was a little ashamed. I had no idea Beth was still involved with Carter.”

“It’s okay, Max. I understand.”

After dinner, Max and I went for a stroll. It was mild for a mid-November evening. I fastened the top button of my coat and breathed the night air deep into my lungs. “So, Max,” I said, continuing to look straight ahead, “I’m surprised you don’t have a girlfriend.” I was trying to lighten the mood. “Or is it just that you don’t want Marsha Brady to get jealous?”

“I don’t know. It just seems like most women my age are in a hurry to get married. What’s so wrong with wanting to take time to make sure it’s right?”

“When was the last time you dated?”

“Months ago. I tried an online dating service for a while. That was disastrous.” He shook his head and laughed.

We walked in silence for a minute or so before Max spoke again.

“What about you, Sarah? I know it’s none of my business, and you can tell me to go to hell, but I think you deserve better. I don’t know your husband, but I get the sense you’ve been settling for a long time. Why do you stay with him?”

“Our son, Brian.” I said. “He would be devastated if we split up. Plus, the fairy tale love story of happily ever after doesn’t exist. Anyway, let’s face it. I’m over forty. If I were single, I’d be competing against women in their thirties. I wouldn’t stand a chance. Most men my age and older want someone younger and hotter. I’m not bitter about that. It’s just a fact of life.” I smiled and raised my hands in mock surrender.

“Sounds like a cop out to me. No offense, but you only have one life to live. Don’t waste it.”

I stopped, and he turned to look at me.

“Easy for you to say,” I said, hands planted firmly on my hips.

“Yes, it is easy for me to say. My whole family is gone, taken from me. If anyone can talk about how fleeting life can be, it’s me!” He started to walk off.

“Wait, Max.” He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

I walked up to him and gently took his arm. He turned and, without warning, kissed me solidly on the lips. One hand slipped around and cradled the back of my head, the other clasped my waist. I closed my eyes and let my body be pulled into his. His lips were soft and warm, and tasted like wine. Then he slowly withdrew, without releasing me. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was smiling, his eyes searching mine.

“Okay. All I can say is . . . wow.”

“I hadn’t planned to do that, but I can’t say I regret it,” he said, withdrawing further, but continuing to hold my hand.

All I could do was look at him and smile.

“I don’t want to make your life more confusing than it already is, Sarah. I know your family is important to you. I guess I just need to keep my feelings in check.” He gently squeezed my hand before letting it go.

“Thank you for understanding,” I said. “Honestly, I’m not sure which way is up. My husband is gone most of the time, and my son no longer needs me. I feel a little lost these days, you know? And, as much as I would like to see you, I feel like I would be wasting your time.”

“I don’t see it that way. If all we can be is friends, that’s better than nothing.”

But hadn’t we already crossed the line? Maybe I didn’t want to be just friends anymore. Maybe I was tired of waiting around for something fabulous to happen to me.

I thanked Max for a wonderful evening, and he offered to walk me to my car. Before I got in, I reached up and gave him a hug, but turned my face away as we embraced. He took the not so subtle hint and backed away, allowing me to get in. As I drove off, I couldn’t resist the urge to look back at him standing alone in the dark.

Even taking time to go to the gym for a quick workout, I was sitting at my desk looking through the client files by eight o’clock. My renewed disdain for bookkeeping found me pondering the thought of hiring someone to replace Beth. But I didn’t have the heart to do it so soon. It was going to be a challenge to find someone like her. As I was writing checks, the front door opened. I looked up and couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Jacob and Lindy! What a surprise,” I said, noticing my heart was beating just a little faster than normal. Jacob was wearing loose fitting jeans and a flannel jacket, and Lindy was decidedly less glamorous than she’d looked the first time I’d seen her. Her hair was pulled up into a baseball cap, and she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt with a chunky blue scarf.

“Sarah, can we talk for a few minutes?” Jacob asked.

Not sure what to say, I said, “What’s up?” There were so many things jumping around in my mind I felt a little dizzy.

“Look, Sarah. Lindy and I went to see Detective Flynn this morning. We’d like to clear things up with you, too.” Jacob gestured towards the waiting room.

“What is it?” I said, crossing my arms and sitting back in my chair. “You can tell me right here.”

Lindy walked up to the desk. “I want to apologize for lying to you when I came over here the other day. I don’t know why I did it.” She looked down at her feet. “Maybe I was just curious. I know that sounds completely twisted and wrong. But I swear to you, I had nothing to do with Beth’s murder.”

“So what did you and Beth talk about in your car that night? Gabby said she saw Beth get into a white Subaru Outback. Don’t tell me it wasn’t you.”

“Yes, it was me. I’ll tell you what I told the detective this morning. I’d called Beth earlier that day, wanting to talk to her.” She paused to tuck a strand of hair back under her cap. “She agreed to meet me here after work, so I came by. She got in my car, and we talked for just a few minutes.”

“What’d you talk about?”

“Jacob, of course. I told her we were still in love. You see, I was just trying to create a rift in their relationship. I guess I was hoping she’d call off the wedding and he’d come back to me. Well, she told me to get lost. She got out of my car and I left.” Lindy looked over at Jacob, who stood motionless, hands stuffed in his jeans’ pockets.

“So, if you really had nothing to do with Beth’s murder, why did you leave town?”

“I realized how bad it looked, being the crazy ex-girlfriend and all. I panicked, I guess. But Jacob had nothing to do with that. When I came back this morning, he went to the police with me to help explain.”

“Lindy, tell Sarah the other thing,” Jacob said, pointing to the envelope she held in her hand.

“What other thing?” I asked.

Lindy laid the small white envelope on my desk.

“What’s this?” I said, looking down at it.

“Open it and see for yourself,” Jacob said.

I opened the envelope and withdrew five photographs. Holding them up to get a better look, I instantly recognized the two people in the photos.

“How’d you get these pictures?” I asked.

“They must have fallen out of Beth’s purse when she was getting out of my car the evening we talked,” Lindy explained. “I noticed the envelope on the seat when I got home.”

“I don’t get it. Why would Beth have these photos?” I looked from one to the other, but they both just shook their heads and shrugged.

“This is disturbing. Do you mind if I keep these? I need to make some calls. Please excuse me,” I said, picking up the phone.

Jacob and Lindy turned and walked out. Gabby, coming in just as they were leaving, gave them a peculiar look.

“Thank God you’re here, Gabby. I was just about to call you,” I said, pushing myself away from the desk and getting to my feet.

“What’s wrong?”

“You have a minute?”

“Of course.”

Gabby listened to me go on about all I’d learned the past few days about Beth working for a private eye named Carter and about Max’s business. Then I showed her the photos.

“Who’s that guy you’re massaging?” Gabby asked. “He looks familiar.”

“That’s Jeff Gardner, the client I was working on the night Beth was killed.”

“Why would someone want photos of you massaging him?”

“I have no idea, but look, here, Gabby. The date in the bottom right hand corner is October 23. These pictures were taken over two weeks ago.”

“Okay. But why? And how? Wouldn’t you have noticed someone standing in your room with a camera?”

“Exactly. There was no one in the room with us that day, or any other day.”

Gabby grabbed my arm and we walked briskly down the hall to my massage room. She was holding the photos, looking around. “Someone would have had to stand on a stool or a chair to get a shot from this angle,” she said, studying the photos, then pulling a chair out of the corner and climbing onto it.

“So what are you saying? Someone put a camera or something up there on a timer?”

“It’s possible. The angle from which these photos were taken would be just about right for a camera sitting on this upper shelf.”

“I’ve never seen a camera up there.”

“Did you ever look for one?”

“Okay. But why? I don’t get it.”

“This is my theory. Your client, the guy in those pictures, took them with his own camera or cell phone. He could’ve set it up there while he was undressing, before you came in.”

“Why the hell would he do that?”

“Maybe he gets off on looking at pictures of himself getting massaged by cute girls.”

“Oh, please. That’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t be so naïve,” Gabby scolded, handing the photos back to me.

“But that doesn’t explain why Beth would have had the pictures.”

“You said something about Beth working for a private eye, right? Maybe she found out about his kinky habit and he killed her when he found out she stole his photos.”

“This makes no sense to me. Jeff was in the shower when I found Beth. He couldn’t have killed her. Plus, he was the one who called 911.”

“Beats the shit out of me,” Gabby said. “What were you doing while he was supposedly taking a shower?”

“Laundry.” I replied, recalling that he
had
taken an unusually long shower. “But they’re just stupid photographs. What do they prove? Nothing. Who’d give a rat’s ass about them.”

“Maybe he was afraid the pictures would be sent to his wife. Is he married?”

“Yes. But so what? It’s not as if we’re having sex in the photos. Look, he’s completely covered up with the sheet. He’s not even popping a tent for Pete’s sake.”