Point of Betrayal (7 page)

“Oh, sorry,” Molly said. Brian had wandered to another spot and she was alone with the cute stranger. “I’m in my own little world today.”

“I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but that’s so lame, something my grandmother would say.”

The sun reflected off her white teeth, and Molly resisted the urge to shield her eyes. Now that they were only a few feet apart she guessed the other woman was probably in her early twenties. Molly’s self-confidence took another step forward. Since she was thirty-seven, she must look good if a youngster found her attractive.

“Just taking in the view,” she said. “I’ve only been up here a few times. I’m Molly.”

“I’m Willow. It’s nice to meet you, Molly.”

Willow’s hiking partner motioned that she wanted to head back down and Willow turned to go. “Maybe I’ll see you up here again.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Maybe we could get a smoothie or something afterward.”

“Okay,” she said as Willow disappeared down trail. “Bye.”

She glanced at Brian who was laughing and watching. “What?”

“A date,” he said playfully.

“No,” she disagreed. “It would just be a smoothie.”

“You think you’re ready for that?” he asked seriously. She scowled and started back down. “I mean, it’s only been a few months since you’ve been home,” he said, following behind. “Have you talked with Ari?”

She whirled around with a fierce expression. “I never want to see her again. I hate her. Biz can have her.”

He stepped back and held up his hands as some hikers passed them. “Okay, sis. I got it.”

“Good,” she said and hustled down the trail.

They returned to the street in half the time it took to ascend the mountain. She gazed up and felt a sense of accomplishment.

“Thirty minutes,” she whispered. “I can do that.”

* * *

She found Andre seated poolside with some of her neighbors. He looked completely out of place in a three-piece suit next to two lily-white octogenarians in Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts.

Dorothy Lyons, her favorite neighbor, waved. “Hi, Molly! Look who’s here!”

Her companion, another tenant named Howard Birnbaum, glanced up from his copy of the
Arizona Republic
. “Why are you shoutin’? She’s not blind. She can see him clear as day, at least for now. Blindness won’t come for another forty years if she’s lucky.”

“Shut up, you old coot. I was being friendly and welcoming.”

“What’s to welcome? She lives here.”

“Go back to reading the obituaries. Maybe you’ll get some good ideas for yours. Then we’ll know what to write.”

He snorted and returned to his paper.

“Hey, Mol,” Andre said, pulling her into a hug. When she tried to let go, he held her tighter. “I miss you so much. The department’s just not the same without you.”

She swallowed another sob and said, “Let’s go inside.” She turned to Dorothy and Howard. “Thanks for keeping him company.”

Dorothy waved her off. “No problem, sweetie, and when you get a chance can you check out my disposal? It’s making that funny whirring noise again.”

Molly looked at her skeptically. “You weren’t trying to stick corncobs down there again, were you?”

“Oh, no, I learned my lesson. What a mess that was! I’ve only used it for table scraps, just like you told me.” She turned to Andre and said, “This is the first time in my life I’ve ever had a garbage disposal, not counting any of my ex-husbands. I had no idea there were rules.”

“They’re very handy,” he replied. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“Same here, handsome, and if that girlfriend of yours keeps giving you grief, let me talk to her.”

They walked to her apartment and he asked, “What was that about the disposal?”

“I’m the property manager for now. It helps pay the bills.”

She was grateful there wasn’t laundry hanging from her piano. Since she’d left Ari, she’d allowed herself to slip back into habits Ari would never tolerate.

“Do you want some juice or water?”

He shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. She knew he was nervous. He’d only been to her place twice. They had been work colleagues and rarely associated outside of the department. A twinge of jealousy stepped between them for a moment as she saw the difference. He was still a cop, not a great cop but a good one, but still, a
cop
. She was nobody except someone who fixed disposals and installed faucets.

“I came by because Jack thought you might have remembered something else that might help us catch Lola, a detail, anything.”

She leaned against the counter. “No, I told him everything I could remember. Are they pressuring you guys to wrap up the task force?”

“Yeah. There’s a new female chief coming in and she wants it done. If we don’t have any leads she’ll shut it down and Vince Carnotti will slip away again. Think, Mol. There’s gotta be a clue, something she wore or a comment she let slip. People aren’t that careful.”

She cradled her chin in her palm and remembered Lola, the sexy blonde whose charms she’d finally succumbed to after Ari betrayed her. Lola had come on to her a few times when she’d snuck into Hideaway for a drink to escape Ari’s suffocating love. She pictured each meeting separately—at the bar, in the back room and finally in the manager’s office.

“What about her clothes?” he offered. “Talk it through with me.”

“She typically wore a black dress with different accessories, but there’s nothing unusual about that. Most women only have one or two outfits for bar-hopping.”

“Jewelry, shoes?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“What about her purse? Did you ever see inside or did she ever answer her cell phone?”

She hadn’t thought about that. Once when they were sitting at the bar her phone had rung. Molly was half drunk and too focused on her own troubles to pay attention. She’d seen the display, though, and there had been something odd about it.

What was it?
She closed her eyes and focused on the bag. Suddenly it came to her. “She got a call while we were at the bar...from a pay phone.” She closed her eyes again and tried to see the little silver flip-phone. The blue digital numbers appeared on the screen…

“Mol, you couldn’t have known it was a pay phone unless you
knew
the number.”

She looked up and cracked a grin. “Good work, detective. That’s right. I knew the number.”

“There aren’t a lot of pay phones left in Phoenix. Where do you go that has one?”

She sighed as the pieces came together. “Hideaway itself. That’s why I knew it. Whoever was calling was probably watching us. Maybe she or he was coaching Lola, but I’m guessing it was a woman. Men stick out whenever they’re there.”

He sighed heavily. “Damn it. Most likely she has an accomplice. We’re not looking for just one woman. We’re looking for
two
.”

How people spent their Sundays said a lot about their priorities. Biz remembered many stakeouts where the mark never got out of bed before noon, and she’d had trouble tailing others who were obsessed with getting twenty errands done before the weekend was officially over. So she had been somewhat impressed when Wanda strolled into Uptown Fitness at five o’clock for her kickboxing class. Anyone who made exercise a priority on the day of rest must have a few good qualities.

She checked her watch and extended the old Subaru’s bucket seat. For stakeouts she’d acquired an old Impreza that few people noticed. Her customary Mustang would’ve stood out immediately, as well as her sleek Harley. She had an hour to kill before the gym closed and Wanda left.

She had met her in that same class and recognized her strong focus coupled with flimsy morals—exactly the kind of person who would do anything for the right price. She needed to learn more about Wanda’s daily routines before she decided how to handle the situation. They’d always met in the locker room or the parking lot, so what Biz knew of the woman’s life was limited to a few offhanded comments she’d made about her girlfriends and her love of cocaine. Biz found it supremely ironic that someone so committed to physical health would throw it away on drugs.

She scrolled through the photos on her phone and found one of her with Ari on the day she moved into her new house. They were standing at the front door, and while she wore a gigantic smile, Ari’s expression was tentative and unsure. Biz constantly viewed the photo to remind herself of Ari’s fragility. While she desperately wanted to fold her in her arms and carry her off to bed—a fantasy that occurred frequently in her dreams—Ari wasn’t ready. Maybe solving the murder in Laguna would bring them a step closer to the fantasy. Until then there was always video chatting.

She pulled up Ari’s contact and waited for her beautiful face to appear on the screen.

“Hey,” Ari said in a loud voice.

They were apparently driving with Jane singing “My Sharona” in the background. Ari gave Jane a look and reached over from the passenger seat to silence the soundtrack.

“How’s it going? Have you learned anything so far?”

“Quite a bit actually. We found Nina’s journal and this.” She shuffled through a bag and held up a key. “What do you think this fits?”

Biz studied it carefully, noting the teeth and size. “It’s not a safety deposit box key and it’s not small enough to fit a padlock. My best guess would be a locker.”

“That’s what I was thinking. The only question is where?”

“I’d start with the area around her house. People like security, but they don’t like inconvenience if they need the items frequently. Look for a storage facility or if there’s a bus depot in the vicinity, anything like that.”

Ari nodded. “Good idea.”

“So what are you ladies doing for the rest of the night?”

“Well, Sam’s parents invited us to dinner at this swanky restaurant so we’re heading back to the hotel to get ready.”

Biz heard the trepidation in her voice. “You don’t want to go?”

“No, I’m fine with going, but I didn’t bring anything appropriate to wear.”

“I did,” Jane said from the driver’s seat.

Biz laughed. “I assume she’s prepared for all occasions.”

Ari rolled her eyes. “Of course. She spent an extra two hundred dollars in baggage fees. In the event we’re forced to attend a funeral, African safari or royal coronation, Jane will be ready.”

“Hey,” Jane chimed in, “you never know what could happen.”

“So true,” Ari agreed. “So we’ll see you on Tuesday? Will you be done with your business by then?”

She glanced at the gym’s front door. “Absolutely. Um, have fun with your shower…I mean
dinner
.” She saw Ari squirm and she grinned. “Just a little flirting, Ari. I’m allowed to do that, right?”

“You’re at the line,” she said before she hung up.

She closed her eyes and pictured the contour of Ari’s body outlined in the shower steam, rivulets cascading across her smooth skin toward her most delicious parts. She opened her eyes and groaned. She would give
anything
to join her in that shower, but first things first. She needed to delete Wanda from her life. The gym closed in another ten minutes and then she’d follow her home. Once she saw her neighborhood, she’d know what she needed to do. She tapped the steering wheel while she listed the goons who might be willing to help her if the price were right.

Her gaze focused on the exit door, she almost didn’t notice the well-dressed man hurrying through the entrance—Andre Williams, Molly Nelson’s former partner.

Ari knew Jane wouldn’t tolerate a Budget Inn since the word budget wasn’t in her vocabulary, but she had not expected a suite at the Montage, one of Laguna’s finest resorts, which sat on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

“I’m not particularly thrilled with our accommodations,” Jane said as they unpacked, “but they will have to do.”

“Are you crazy?” she asked.

The three-room suite was larger than Ari’s old condo and could accommodate a family of five comfortably. She eyed the Jacuzzi tub longingly. The amenities were top shelf. She wondered if Jane would notice the extra charge on her credit card if one of the plush robes went missing.

Jane went to the balcony and stared at the hills in front of her. “I’d hoped for an ocean view, but I imagine it’s impossible to get one of those rooms at the last minute.”

“I think we’ll live,” Ari said. “Now, I hope you have a decent outfit I can wear.”

She studied her critically. “Well, given the difference in our heights, the skirt is going to be short and sexy.”

That proved an understatement. As they drove to the Watermarc Restaurant, Ari constantly crossed and uncrossed her legs, cognizant that the black leather skirt barely covered her mid-thigh region. Normally she was okay with just-above-the-knee. In fact, Molly had loved it when she wore her purple miniskirt, but she knew when she sat down her long legs would be almost completely uncovered.

“We must look fabulous,” Jane said as she handed her keys to the valet, who leered at both of them.

They arrived before Sam and his parents and were seated at the premier table. Diners at the Watermarc were afforded stunning views of the high-tide waves surging onto the beach in the blue-black moonlight. She imagined the Garritsons’ wealth and power guaranteed them the best table wherever they went. A middle-aged man continued to stare at them over his menu, but no one else seemed to care.

“See?” Jane said. “It’s California. Everyone is expected to be beautiful. Here we’re just normal.”

Ari shook her head. She’d never thought of herself as beautiful. Her
mother
had been beautiful.

Before they could order drinks, the maître d’ approached with Sam, his parents and a man who looked almost exactly like Sam.

“You didn’t tell me he had a twin,” she whispered to Jane.

“I didn’t know.”

“Jane and Ari, I’d like you to meet my parents, Steve and Georgie, and my brother, Evan.”

They finished the customary introductions and a debate ensued over the seating arrangement. Judging from the disconcerted expression on Georgie’s face, Ari realized she and Jane had been given the best seats at the round table, the two facing the ocean. While Jane and Sam made small talk, Ari watched Evan and Steve cater to Georgie.