The Scent of Lies: A Paradise Valley Mystery (26 page)

“There were also several passports, under different names.” She set the glasses down. “And a gun.” Once she had spilled it all out, she stood by the table with her arms crossed, staring down at him, awaiting his response.

“Sounds like something out of a spy novel, Emily,” he remarked, looking up at her.

“It’s funny how you picked up on that—a spy, I mean. That’s what Isabel suspected after she told me she couldn’t find Evan Parker even existed before we got married.”

“What’s the FBI’s part in all this?”

“So far, Isabel has just done a background check.”

He stood and put his arms around her. “No wonder you were on edge about the picture. This is a lot for you to carry around all by yourself, Emily. Let me help you carry it.”

She uncrossed her arms and clung to him, feeling her body relax against his. Perhaps now she could get some answers.

“How about after dinner you take me to your husband’s old office and let me look around? Maybe Isabel and I can work together and figure this thing out.”

“I’d like that.”

* * *

After the food from Confucius was polished off and the dishes cleared, Emily took Colin to Evan’s office.

Jiggling the key in the old key hole, it finally gave in and unlocked. She noticed Colin reading the lettering still on the door—Evan Parker, Private Investigator—as he waited for her to unlock it. She pushed the door open and hesitated.

“You all right?” Colin asked.

She nodded and stepped inside, afraid of reliving the suffocating feeling she experienced when she was there last, when she was searching for information on Delia McCall. So much had happened since that night—good and bad. She pushed down her fears and pressed forward.

The sun was going down and the office was nearly dark, so Emily flipped on the overhead light as they walked in.

Colin stood just inside the door and surveyed the layout of the office. “This is where Evan was killed?”

“Yes. Detective Tolliver said they found his body over there by the file cabinet, shot in the back of the head at close range.” She was surprised at how matter-of-factly the words came out, like she was talking about someone she didn’t even know.

“And they found cash in a locked drawer in his desk?”

“Yes, this one.” She pointed to the massive old metal desk. Evan’s desktop computer sat in one corner of it. “But I found out from Delia it was money she paid him in cash to investigate her husband and avoid a paper trail.”

“And you found more cash in the safe deposit box?”

“Yes, along with some Euros.”

“You don’t think any of that money was from Delia?”

“No. The amount of money found in this drawer matched what Delia told me she paid him. The cash in the safe deposit box was considerably more.”

“Maybe I’m missing something. If Delia already paid your husband to investigate Ricardo, why did she hire you to do the same thing?” Colin asked.

She explained that Delia never received Evan’s photos or notes before he was killed, so she never learned what he discovered.

“How did you start working for her?”

Emily told him how she found the slip of paper in Evan’s things and then her subsequent conversations with Delia. “I needed the money, so I agreed to do it. Who knew it would turn into a murder investigation?”

“Tell you what, why don’t you let me come back here in the daylight one day next week and dig around by myself. Maybe I can find something Tolliver missed,” he offered.

Just then three gunshots rang out in rapid fire—
Pop! Pop! Pop!
—shattering one of the office windows. Colin pushed Emily to the floor and he spread eagle over her. He drew his gun from under the back of his jacket.

“Stay low,” he whispered to her. Keeping his head down, he cut the lights as he rushed to the side of the window and peered out. Emily crawled behind the desk, trying to keep her eyes fixed on Colin. The sound of squealing tires pierced the night air.

“Did you see who it was?” she asked as he returned to help her up.

“No.” He tucked his gun back into his belt, under his jacket. “It was too far away. All I caught were taillights rounding the corner.”

“Twice in one day, Colin. Someone tried to kill me twice in one day!” She spun away from him, not wanting him to see the terror in her eyes or the rush of hot tears that stung them.

He gently turned her back around and enveloped her in his arms. She melted against him and cried. They stood together in the dark, holding each other, until she was ready to go.

“I’m going to call this in,” Colin told her, “get some people over here to find those bullets and see if they can match them.”

“I see a couple of them in the wall over there,” Emily said, gesturing toward the far wall.

“We need to ID the shooter and put him away. If he’s the same person who shot at you earlier this afternoon, you won’t be safe until we do.”

“How do you know it’s a man? What if the shooter is a woman?”

“You make a good point. I just assumed—”

“What if it’s the same person that murdered Ricardo Vega?”

“Like Delia McCall?”

“I meant like Anna Petrova,” she replied. “Did you ever search her condo when you ruled her out as a suspect?”

“We did. I didn’t just arrest Delia and leave it at that, like you seem to think I did.”

“Sorry, that’s what it looked like,” Emily replied.

“I looked at other possible suspects, checked out their alibis. I got a warrant to search Anna’s condo for bloody clothes. We turned that place upside down looking for anything that might have Ricardo’s blood on it, anything that would point to her as the killer. We even checked her car, but we turned up zilch.”

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t do it.”

“I don’t want to argue with you, Emily—especially now—but everything points to Delia.” Colin pulled his phone out and called the station to report the incident.

Within minutes, a couple of officers arrived at the old office building. Colin met them outside and explained what had happened. Showing them into the office, he pointed out the two bullet holes in the wall and instructed them to find the other one and get them analyzed right away.

“Will do,” one of them confirmed.

“I don’t think you should stay in your house alone tonight. It’s not safe,” he said to Emily, who had taken a seat behind the desk. “Can you stay with Isabel and Alex?”

“Probably,” she nodded.

“Let’s swing by your house and pick up your things,” Colin said, taking her hand.

“I’ll call Isabel on the way.”

* * *

Colin and Emily pulled into the Martinez’s driveway. Isabel came running out of the house, Alex trailing behind her. As soon as Emily was out of the car, Isabel threw her arms around her friend and squeezed her hard.

“Trying to breathe here,” Emily squeaked.

“I’m so glad you’re all right, Em,” Isabel said, letting go of her grip. “You
are
all right, aren’t you?” Emily hadn’t been physically injured, but Isabel was all too familiar with what an emotional toll something like this could take on a person.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Mr. Wonderful over there thought I shouldn’t spend the night alone.”

“And he didn’t offer to stay with you?” Alex asked, raising his eyebrows at Colin.

“That’s enough of that, Alex,” his wife scolded. “Let’s get Emily inside,” she said, keeping an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Alex, can you grab her suitcase?”

“I got it,” Colin replied.

Once inside, they all gathered around the table.

“Is anyone hungry?” Isabel had already set out some drinks and snacks.

“I’m good,” Emily said.

“Me too. Maybe later,” Colin added.

“I know what would be good for you right now,” Isabel said. “How about a nice long soak in a hot tub—bubbles and all.”

“You don’t have to coddle me, Isabel. I’m not a child.”

“Oh, Em, don’t be so bullheaded. Have you ever been shot at before?” Isabel asked.

“Well, no...”

“And now you’ve been shot at twice in one day,” she pointed out, her eyes growing round. “You might be suffering from shock or a bit of post-traumatic stress. Wouldn’t you agree, Colin?”

“You could be right, Isabel,” he agreed. “I think a hot bath’s a good idea, Emily. It might relax you enough that you can sleep. Why don’t you take her up on it?” Colin encouraged, giving her a little smile.

She didn’t have the strength to continue arguing, so she surrendered to her caretakers. Isabel grabbed her overnight bag and wouldn’t hear of letting Emily carry it upstairs herself. Once she made sure her friend was taken care of, Isabel headed back to the kitchen for a briefing.

* * *

The men were talking about something totally unrelated, but when Isabel arrived, she wanted to know what happened to Emily and nothing else. So, Colin began by detailing what had occurred in the first shooting in Emily’s driveway, then what transpired over the course of the afternoon and into the evening.

“We were at Evan’s office, talking about his death and Emily’s suspicions, when out of nowhere three shots came flying through the window.”

“You both could have been killed,” Alex noted.

“Well, I figure either they were really bad shots or they were meant to be a warning. I don’t know which,” Colin replied.

“Do you think the two shootings could be related?” Isabel asked, grabbing a cracker off the platter to munch on.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Colin shrugged. “The first shot at Emily’s house would have hit her for sure if she hadn’t ducked unexpectedly.”

“And the shots at the office could have taken her head off—yours too!” Isabel stressed.

“You’re right, they could have,” Colin agreed, “but they didn’t. Now our focus has to be on finding the shooter.”

“Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you,” Alex offered. “Isabel has resources at the FBI and I know people.”

“You
know
people? What does that mean?” Colin asked.

“I just mean I have contacts—detectives in other police departments, people in high places.”

“I see. I’ll certainly keep that in mind.” He stood up to leave. “Well, I need to shove off. I’ve got to go down to the station and file my report. Let Emily know I’ll check in on her in the morning.”

“Thank you for protecting her, Colin,” Isabel said as she walked to him the door. “You don’t know how precious she is to us.”

“Seeing how close you all are, I think I have a pretty good idea,” he replied warmly.

* * *

After turning in his report, Colin decided to make a small detour on the way home and stop for a beer at Bar deNay’s to take the edge off. It had been a very stressful day, and now that he knew Emily was safe, he could relax.

He strolled into the popular, trendy bar and grill, with its high ceilings and three walls of windows overlooking the river. Crowded and noisy with chatter and music, he found an empty spot at the bar.

“What can I get for you?” hollered the spiky-haired young bartender over the din.

“A Guinness, please.”

“Coming right up.”

“Hello there, Colin,” a sophisticated woman’s voice said over the music, as she took the stool next to him.

He turned and looked into the face of the stunning blonde. “Hello, Allison.”
Oh, boy, this could be trouble
.

“A Manhattan, please,” she called out to the bartender, raising her hand and waving at him. She slid her body around to face Colin. “I’m so glad I ran into you.”

“Why’s that?” he asked. The bartender set his cold drink down on a napkin in front of him.

“I asked you out for drinks the other day, but we were interrupted by that Parker woman.” “You know I never got an answer from you, yet here you are, as if we’d planned it.” The bartender set her cocktail down in front of her, and she thanked him. She picked up her glass and took a small sip, eyeing Colin. “So, tell me, how are you finding Paradise Valley?”

“Well, it’s nothing like San Francisco, that’s for sure,” he replied, then took a long drink from his glass.

“That’s right. You told me you were from San Francisco—the city by the bay. I’ve always wanted to go there.” She smiled at him.

“It’s a beautiful city,” he said, attempting to make small talk.

“Maybe you’ll take me sometime and show me the sights,” she suggested, putting her hand on his forearm.

He looked down at her hand and wanted to pull his arm back, feeling awkward at her obvious advances, but he didn’t want to offend her—he’d have to work with her. Perhaps she was testing the waters to see if he might be interested in her.

“Did you hear about the drive-by shooting in Paradise Valley today?” Colin casually pulled his arm free to pick up his drink. He decided not to bring up the second shooting because then he’d have to explain to her why he was with Emily when it happened.

“Yes, I heard something about it from one of my assistants. She said that Parker woman was involved, I think.”