Mouth of the Rat (A Samantha Jamison Mystery) (9 page)

I jerked her to me; paranoid something awful happened to those sweet old ladies. “Please tell me they’re safe!”

“Of course. They’re inside the house, waiting for us.”

Now, why didn’t I think of that?

Chapter 35

Step By Step & Then Some

I followed Martha in the moonlight along the pool. As we neared the house, we heard crunching underfoot.

I stopped walking. “Sounds like broken glass.”

“Betty said to expect that.”

“Why?”

“That’s how those two got in, via a missing window.”

This was worse than I thought.

Martha flicked on her mini light.

Curtains were fluttering about. “Where’s the window?”

She aimed the light down at the shards of glass, and then into the pool. The window frame and more glass were at the bottom. She then flicked the light back onto the house.

“Someone chiseled it out and dumped it in the pool.”

“That’s one very determined burglar.”

Martha whispered back, “A professional hit?”

“Who
knew
there was no alarm on and no one home?”

As we climbed in, Martha said, “Smell that perfume?”

“It’s an odd scent, isn’t it?” I said, putting on my gloves.

A voice from the dark said, “What took you so long?”

Expecting them, I still jumped and Martha back stepped.

“Good Lord!” Martha snapped. “I’m too old for this!”

“It’s payback. You scare us on a daily basis,” said Betty.

I was still upset. “I asked you not to wander off.”

We stood in a cluster. I looked around. In the glow of Martha’s mini light, all I could see was a stone fireplace, cypress on the walls, beams on the ceiling, and traditional furniture: a family room. Not your typical Florida setup.

“We thought we saw something we wanted to check out,” said Hazel, “and the garage had windows low enough to see through. We whispered to Martha. She was into her iPod and nodded, so we took off. In the moonlight, it was easy to see it was empty. So we kept going, inspecting the rest of the property. That’s when we found the unlocked gate, the missing window, and climbed right through.”

“Elementary at best,” said Martha grudgingly.

“Why, thank you!” Betty said, smiling.

Hazel chuckled at Martha. “You’re jealous. I can tell.”

Martha eyed me. “
Someone
was busy parking their car.”

“Hey, I didn’t want it spotted,” I said defensively.

“Forget that. We found something,” said Hazel.

“What?” I asked.

Betty cleared her throat. “You need to see this yourself.”

“It’s evidence that’s very disturbing,” said Hazel.

I shrugged. “Since we’ve already trespassed, why not?”

Hazel led the way. “It’s in an office on the first floor.”

Beyond the Mexican tiled kitchen, we entered an office. Martha flashed her mini light on a metal desk, wooden chair and cheap lamp, then honed in on Betty’s hands.

Already wearing gloves, Betty handed me some photos.

I couldn’t believe it. “Hey! That’s me!”
What the…

Chapter 36

Sounding The Alarm

The others came closer as I flipped through the photos.

“Obviously, they were taken without my knowledge.”

Several were of me in and around the club, then one of Sylvie, Bunny, and me, and finally one of Martha and me.

“Look!” Betty said, pointing. “They caught Martha, too.”

“Will you just look at my hair in that one!” Martha said frowning. “The humidity here is just killing me.”

The three of us turned to Martha in the dim light.

“I’m hearing vanity in this conversation,” said Hazel.

“Well, it’s true. I look awful! I should tear it up.”

“Trust me, this was not a photo shoot,” Betty shot back.

“Someone is tracking Sam’s activities,” said Hazel.

Martha leaned closer. “Sure looks like it, doesn’t it?”

“See anything else when you two checked the house?”

“We made a quick, but thorough search,” said Hazel.

“No personal items,” said Betty. “It’s probably a rental.”

“I checked the upstairs closets,” added Hazel. “There’s men’s casual clothes in one. I’m guessing a forty regular.”

“You sure?” I asked. “That was a pretty accurate guess.”

“I used to do alterations. The labels were off-the-rack.”

“Oh yeah, back when you had that shop,” said Martha.

“You had a shop in Highlands?” I asked surprised.

“I dabbled in an enterprise or two when I was younger.”

I didn’t like it. “Why would this man be shadowing me? And who is the woman that wore that odd perfume?”

“Maybe it’s Marco’s ex,” said Hazel.

“But why break in here?” Betty posed.

“To see what this guy was up to?” Martha asked.

“This is crazy. Who is spying on who?” said Hazel.

“Let’s leave the photos. If this guy is watching me, why clue him in that I know what he’s been doing?”

“The question is
who
is he?” Martha asked.

“Betty and I could call real estate firms for rental info,” said Hazel. “We could suggest this neighborhood.”

I grinned. “Great idea. Martha, see if you can find out who owns this place. That might help, too.”

A dog barked in the distance, putting me on alert. “Let’s get out of here before we’re blamed for this break-in.”

We were headed out through the kitchen when Martha said, “Hey, did anyone check where that door leads to?”

Hazel shook her head. “We were about to when you two came in through the missing window opening.”

“I’ll go check it out and join you outside,” she said.

Betty was the last to exit when a blaring alarm sounded.

Martha flew past almost knocking us all over.

“Guess what? Windows aren’t wired, but the doors sure are. Every man for themselves!”

So we all ran, but slammed into her at the gate. She was yanking and pulling. “The damn thing won’t open!”

Walled in, we ran to the water, kicking off our shoes.

About to jump, Hazel said, “Whoa! Aren’t those fins?”

Chapter 37

Rewriting Our Exit

“My gracious!” Betty said afterward, sipping wine. “I don’t know how we made it out of there without falling in.”

“Sam, your idea of stepping around the ledge of that sea wall was brilliant,” said Hazel. “Dangerous, but brilliant.”

“Luckily the neighbor wasn’t home,” I said.

“Well, I wasn’t about to jump in that inlet,” said Martha. “I like to see what I’m swimming with. I’m a pool girl”

“Are you sure those were shark fins?” Hazel asked.

I grabbed the wine. “Who’d want to take that chance?”

“I read up on these waterways,” explained Betty, “and they do spot sharks. Did you want to end up an appetizer?”

“I didn’t argue, did I?” Martha said, chuckling. “I’ve seen my share of sharks, especially ones without fins.”

I poured another round of wine. We were waiting for Mona to come home, having no idea where she was off to. Everyone had voiced their opinion, from out on a date to cozying up to the Feds to further her agenda.

Then the door slammed and an upset Mona marched in.

“I swear, what good is a lie if you can’t use it properly?”

No one said a thing as she grabbed my full glass of wine and drank the whole thing down in one gulp.

“Help yourself,” I said.

She handed the empty glass back and said, “Refill.”

The ladies and I looked at one another.

Trouble.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Betty asked.

“Not right now. I need to think this through.”

I refilled the glass, she said thank you, then stomped off to her room with it and slammed the door behind her.

“Well,” I said. “That cross-examination went well.”

“What do you suppose that was all about?” Betty asked.

Martha shook her head. “I think maybe she bit off more than she can chew this time.”

“Who knows what she’s told Sam is true?” said Hazel.

“Sam, do you think there is a Carlos?” Betty asked.

I gazed at Mona’s closed door. “She seemed so sincere when pleading her case, so this time I really thought she was telling me the truth. Now I’m not so sure.”

Martha gave a slight chuckle. We all turned to her.

“Now just suppose something entirely different is going on here and we are just pawns being used for distraction?”

“And what do you think that might be?” asked Betty.

I smiled at Martha. “That’s what we have to find out.”

“How do you propose we go about that?” asked Hazel.

Betty started giggling. “Don’t tell us we should start following her to find out where she is going all the time.”

Martha eyes met mine and we smiled once again.

I nodded. “Been there, seen it, done it, right?”

“But first we need a plan, don’t we?” said Martha.

Sometimes the best laid plans…

Chapter 38

A Nightmare Rears Its Ugly Head

I stared down at my laptop and typed in a frenzy. Anger seemed to be driving me. The only thing keeping me from drowning were my words as I treaded in a sea of lies to stay alive before it was too late. For what?

What more could my dead husband shock me with? He took so much from me I couldn’t distinguish what phrases or adjectives described my life. It was unrecognizable, reduced to nothing more than a whisper of its former self.

If it wasn’t for my writing, I don’t know what I would do and didn’t want to think of the alternative because it was such a dark place, that empty pit that was just waiting…

I… I couldn’t breathe. I was smothering. I needed air…

I bolted upright, breathing heavily. Sweat was dripping down my temple and neck. I glanced over, thankful Martha was still asleep with her earplugs and eye mask in place. These temporary sleeping arrangements in Mona’s condo were a little tight, but we made it work for this short visit.

I quietly slipped out of the king bed we shared and made my way to the bathroom, threw some cold water on my face, and leaned against the sink with my eyes closed to catch my breath and recover. That old nightmare now and then still haunted me ever since my husband, Stephen, died.

That was then, Sam. Leave it there.

I finally opened my eyes. I loved my new life, but every once in a while my old fears and insecurities crept back. Maybe that was a good thing. It made me appreciate what I had now and how hard I fought to put my life back together when I realized solving mysteries was something I was good at and vowed to move on.

I heard a light tap at the door and opened it.

Martha stood there. “You had another one, right?”

I nodded, fingering my damp hair back in place. “Yes.”

She hugged me. “I’ve got my share, too.”

I sighed. “It’s like a snake rearing its ugly head.”

“Just don’t let it bite you in the ass,” she said.

I finally smiled. “Thanks. I’ll have to remember that.”

She turned to go. “You okay? I need my beauty sleep.”

I nodded. “I’m fine now,” I said, reaching for the light.

“Look on the bright side. No one’s shot at you yet.”

I chuckled. “There’s always tomorrow.”

“Then I’ve got something to look forward to, don’t I?”

And I’ve got to figure this thing out, don’t I?

Chapter 39

Researching & Dialing Dead-ends

Nikko was next on my list. We had some unfinished business to discuss. I went online and researched his name on the card he gave me at the club, Down Under, and wasn’t surprised when nothing came up. Was he bogus? Sure seemed like it. Then I looked up his address and pulled another blank, another dead-end.

Finally, I called the number listed on it and was caught off guard when he actually answered. He readily agreed to meet at Vic Angelo’s in Delray Beach for lunch.

So there I was, sitting at a sidewalk table in the Italian restaurant, sipping wine and making idle chitchat. After a few minutes, I soon realized Nikko might not be the easy mark I was hoping he’d be. He was sharp and on guard.

He made a toast. “To lost and founds.”

“Appropriate for you, but not so for me.”

“Maybe I can help you find what you’re looking for.”

“First tell me why someone was looking for Mona.”

He set his glass down. “She’s
Marco’s
widow, right?”

“One question down and a dozen more to go.”

He laughed. “She also has connections.”

“He passes go and maybe collects his money.”

“She’s been using you.”

Now, I set my glass down. “Says who?”

“Someone who wants to remain anonymous.”

“Can’t you do any better than that?”

“She has something a lot of people want.”

“Old news. I already know that.”

“It’s not what you think. It’s more complicated.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“But that’s not all. There’s more,” he said, smiling.

I paused. “What do you mean, more?”

Just then his phone rang. He frowned as he looked at it.

“Ignore it,” I said. “They’ll leave a message.”

“I’m sorry, but I must take this. I’ll be right back. I promise. If you will excuse me,” he said, walking away.

I sat there waiting …and waiting …and waiting. He never came back. After a half an hour of twisting around in my chair looking, I paid the tab and stomped out. I was ticked off. I marched down the sidewalk, crossed the tracks, and headed down the side street where I had left my car.