Dust and Obey (20 page)

CHAPTER 39

I
decided to stop by the hospital to check on Jim and Ginger before heading home. Plus, I had a few questions for him. I wasn’t sure if he would be there but I decided to chance it.

To my delight and surprise, he sat in the waiting room. He had his laptop out and a phone on the table and empty coffee cups littered the floor around him. He looked awful, with circles under his eyes, and his forehead appeared especially shiny.

He straightened when he saw me. “Gabby?”

“I just happened to be in town.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “For work.”

“I didn’t think you worked.”

Oh, yeah. My cover. “It’s a long story. I wanted to check on Ginger.”

The light left his eyes. “There haven’t been any changes. I wish I had something different to tell you, but I don’t.”

“Have you been at the hospital this whole time?”

He shrugged “When I can. I set up my mobile office here. It’s easier this way.”

I sat down beside him and handed him the cup of coffee I’d bought. He looked eternally grateful and took a sip—more like a gulp, actually.

“Can I ask you a question, Jim?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“Why were you and Ginger arguing on the night she fell off the cliff? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

His cheeks turned red. “It was nothing really.”

“I know you two aren’t married, Jim.”

His face went pale. “How did you know that?”

“I put it together when the receptionist said Ginger had a different last name. Everything started to make sense.”

His shoulders slumped. “It’s true. It was Ginger’s idea to come to the retreat center. She wanted our relationship to be the best it could possibly be.”

“Even though you aren’t married to each other?”

He nodded. “I know it sounds crazy. The truth is that I love her.”

“I don’t understand. I’m not advocating you leave your wife. Not by any means. But most people would do that and marry the other woman.”

“That’s actually what we were fighting about. She’d always been happy with our relationship before, just the way it stood. But that day at the retreat center, something changed. She said she wanted more. She wanted me to leave Jill and marry her. I told her I couldn’t.”

“Why not? Again, not that I’d ever advocate that.”

“Jill and I have our whole lives wrapped up in each other. Our kids, our careers, our social circles. It just wasn’t going to happen. Besides, I’ve brokered several land deals for the military. Some top-secret stuff that I had to sign a confidentiality agreement on before doing the work. If my affair became public, someone could blackmail me. That wouldn’t make the government very happy.”

I didn’t exactly know what to think about that. “I see. Can I ask another question?”

“Are you always this nosy?”

“It’s one of the problems Riley and I face.”

“I can see why. I don’t think I’m going to be able to stop you from asking these questions, am I?”

“Probably not. I heard you and Anna also had an argument on the night before she died. May I ask what it was about?”

“How did you find that out?” He shook his head and let out a long sigh. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Truth is, Anna knew Jill from living in the DC-Baltimore area. She knew that Ginger wasn’t my wife and confronted me about it.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her the truth. I told her what I just told you. Besides, Jill knows about Ginger. We have a very open relationship, and we’re both okay with that.”

That confirmed what Jill told me earlier. “I’m not even going to try to understand that.”

“You don’t have to. Just understand this: I would never hurt Ginger. Never.”

***

Detective Hanson was involved in my training session. And I may or may not have put him on the spot a few times when I threw out an especially difficult forensic question. And I also may or may not have felt an immense satisfaction when he didn’t know the answer.

I supposed that was immature of me and that I should feel ashamed. But I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what that said about me.

At the end of my presentation, as I packed up my things and prepared to leave, he called me.

I continued putting away the samples in a blood-testing kit. I tried not to show the satisfaction in my eyes. “Yes?”

He frowned beside me. “Listen, sorry I gave you a hard time earlier. What I said was true: Everyone thinks he or she can be a detective. But I didn’t give you the respect I should have.”

“I appreciate that,” I told him, honestly surprised at his apology.

“I thought I’d let you know we are taking these investigations seriously. However, Anna Thorn did appear to die at her own hands, and we have no evidence to prove anyone pushed Ginger. There was no unusual bruising or even footprints to verify your story.”

“What would you say if I told you there was another woman who died at another one of Dr. Turner’s retreats?” I paused and crossed my arms.

“Really?” His lips pulled down in a deep frown.

I nodded. “That’s one of the problems in police work: different departments in different cities not sharing information. This other death looked like a natural one—a heart attack. But some people suspect that might not be true.”

He thought for a moment before shaking his head. “So Dr. Turner is guilty? Is that what you think?”

“No, he can’t be. When Ginger fell, Dr. Turner had gone back to the mainland. He wasn’t even on the island. But I do have at least one other suspect whom I think you’ll find very interesting.”

I told him about Blaine and her past history, as well as Steve the cook.

“Motive?” he asked.

I had his full attention. His gaze burned into me. Thank goodness someone was finally taking me seriously. This was about more than me proving myself. This was about justice for Anna and Ginger and Khloe.

I let out a long breath at his question. That was where I was struggling also. There was no clear-cut motive I could pinpoint. “That’s a harder one. I don’t want to think this is all the result of a deranged killer. But part of me thinks this is just some sicko getting his kicks out of killing women.”

He pulled his lips back in an expression that clearly showed reservation. “I’ll see what I can find out. If you find out anything else, please let me know.”

I nodded, picking up the last of the rubber gloves I’d brought. “I will.”

“Thanks again, Gabby.”

Sometimes thank you was all a girl wanted to hear.

CHAPTER 40

I
tried to pretend that it wasn’t awkward to sit beside Riley as we drove back to the marriage retreat center the next day. But it was, especially when considering all the unspoken conversations that lingered between us like beasts waiting to devour their prey.

The only possible safe conversation was to talk about the investigation. Apparently, Riley agreed because he jumped in before I could.

“I heard an update today.” Riley glanced at me. Heaviness weighed down his words. “I wasn’t going to tell you now, because I know you have a lot on your mind. But the more I think about it, the more I realize you’d want to know ASAP.”

Curiosity pulsed in my blood. I had to tell him about my conversation with Rae also. I wanted to keep this weekend focused on the investigation. I was hereby resolving to keep my distance from all things Riley Thomas. “What is it?”

“I called the hospital today and asked about Ginger. I ended up talking to Jim. Ginger died last night, Gabby.”

I gasped. “No . . .”

He nodded grimly. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you. But now we have two murders on our hands.”

“Maybe three,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

I explained my phone call with Rae Gray to him.

“That’s crazy.”

“There’s more. I decided to look into the death of Dr. Turner’s wife. She was killed because of a hit-and-run driver. The weird thing is that the police never discovered who killed her. The case is still open.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I just wonder if she’s connected with all of this somehow.” It was just a vague theory, and I had nothing to prove it. I had to consider it as a possibility, though.

“It’s a stretch, but maybe. I want to go back to something you said earlier. Blaine used to be Dr. Turner’s patient?”

I nodded. “Apparently she does okay when she’s on her medicine. But, otherwise, she’s obsessive with an attachment disorder.”

“It appears we have a new suspect then. But what about the boat? And finding her locked in the shed? If she’s guilty, how do those things fit?”

“I’m not sure.” I stared pensively at the window a moment, trying to process everything. “Our window of opportunity for solving this case is rapidly closing, though.”

This was the last weekend of the retreat. Three women were dead. If I ruled out Dr. Turner’s wife, what did Anna, Ginger, and Khloe have in common?

The answer hit me like a Mack truck. Why didn’t I see it earlier? I knew the reason those women were murdered.

“What’s going on in that brain of yours, Gabby?”

“I think I have a motive.” I shook my head, trying to process it. “Riley, all three of the women who died were unfaithful to their spouses. That’s what links these women together.”

“You think someone is killing because of that?”

I shook my head again. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Why isn’t someone killing the men who’ve been unfaithful?”

“I have no idea. But I think I know how we can test my theory.” I rattled off a plan for Saturday evening. I had to collect some more information first. I had to know what I was getting into before I made myself an open target.

“It might work, but it sounds dangerous,” Riley said.

“It may not be as dangerous as we think. If I can get this person to confess, then we can end this once and for all.” My mind continued to turn everything over. My theory made sense. My plan could work, and if my hypothesis was accurate, putting myself out there wasn’t entirely foolhardy. The problem came only if my assumptions proved incorrect.

How confident was I?

“There’s only one way this will work,” I finally said.

“How’s that?”

“On a wing and a prayer.”

Riley groaned. Yes, I’d used a bird reference. Maybe Dr. Turner was wearing off on me.

***

That evening at dinner, Riley and I were seated with Bo and Angelina. The men started talking about football, so I decided to take the opportunity to see what Angelina knew.

Anxiety churned in my stomach. There was a lot that could go wrong. But I was closer to finding answers than I’d been before. I just had to plan each of my moves carefully.

“Have you heard anything else about Leroy?” I asked, lowering my voice. Another man I’d never seen before had escorted us across the water today. Apparently, Dr. Turner had hired him out of one of the local marinas until he could find a permanent replacement.

Angelina’s eyes lit with an excitement that only gossip could bring. “I heard the police let him go. I mean, he still has to have his day in court, but he’s out on bail now.”

“It’s scary all this stuff happening, isn’t it? Too many eerie things for my comfort.” I took a bite of my prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and lemon-drenched green beans.

“Tell me about it. Even the rich have their problems. Maybe even more than regular old folk like me.”

“To be truthful, I grew up poor.”

Angelina’s eyes widened. “Shut up. I would have never guessed.”

“There’s probably a lot about me that would surprise you.” I realized I was coming a little too close to the truth. “I feel like I can relate to you more than I can some of these other snooty people here. Growing up, my dad didn’t even make twelve thousand dollars a year.”

“Well, if I’d had to pay, I would never be here,” she whispered.

“I thought everyone had to pay?”

She leaned back, a smug smile on her face as she shrugged. “When you have a big, brilliant brain, you can think of ways to get around these things.”

I made sure to look impressed. “How’d you do it?”

She looked around briefly before leaning closer. “Between you and me, I found out something about Dr. Turner.”

Excitement spiked in my blood. “What’s that?”

“I ran into a man at the gas station where I work. It turned out he was dating Dr. Turner’s wife.”

“What?” My voice croaked out about five levels higher than normal.

She nodded. “It’s true. They were having an affair.”

She couldn’t be telling the truth. It was like saying Mother Teresa harmed animals in her free time. The mental picture just wouldn’t form. “Not Dr. Turner. He said he had a great relationship with his wife. All his books say so.”

“Well, that’s what he wants us to believe. Truth is, she was just as unfaithful as any of these other women here.”

“How did that equate to you getting in here for free?”

“Well, I was going to go to the media with the story. They love stuff like that. Marriage guru fails at marriage. Doesn’t that smack of irony?”

“But you went to Dr. Turner instead?”

“It was Bo’s idea. We just prodded him in the right direction. He paid us a nice little check that will ensure a great vacation and let us come to the retreat.”

“You got money. Why come here?”

“The chance to get away from our kids for a few weekends while being waited on hand and foot? Why would we pass that up?”

There were some people I’d never understand. “You mean you aren’t having marriage troubles?”

She laughed loudly, before putting a hand over her mouth. “Not like these people! Honey, Bo and I leave here feeling better about our marriage. We know we’ve got it good after hearing all the problems some of these people have.”

“Why was Dr. Turner so desperate to conceal his wife’s affair?”

“Isn’t it obvious? His credibility would be ruined, plus he said he wanted to preserve his wife’s reputation. Isn’t that sweet?”

I nodded. Well, I’d solved one mystery. The mystery of Bo and Angelina.

But another disturbing thought barreled into my mind. If Dr. Turner’s wife was unfaithful, what if her death was somehow connected here also?

If that was the case, there was only one person I could think of who would be responsible. Someone who was obsessive, maybe even possessive.

Blaine Stewart.