Sarah Woods Mystery Series (Volume 3) (7 page)

Chapter 12

I took the elevators to the second floor and turned to my right. Vivian sat behind a reception desk, head bent forward, a serious expression on her face. She looked up as I approached and regarded me with a friendly smile. “Good afternoon, Ma'am. Welcome to Foster Realty. May I help you?”

“
Hi, Vivian. I'm Sarah, we met the other night at the Foster's dinner party?”

She narrowed her eyes at me for a second, then something must have clicked. “Oh, yes. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. Forgive me.”

“
No problem. Hey, I don't want to disturb you from your work, I was just hoping that in the off chance that Andrew was around today, I'd like to see him.”

She nodded. “Yes, he's here, but I'm not sure for how long. He's in his office, just down the hall.” She pointed to my right.

“
Thank you.”

Andrew's office door was ajar, but I knocked anyway. He seemed surprised to see me when he looked up. “Sarah Woods,” he said. “Max's girlfriend, right?”

“
Yes. I'm sorry to drop by like this, but I'm wondering if you have a moment.”

He ushered me into his private office and offered me a chair. He wore a polo shirt and khaki slacks with loafers. And a gold Rolex. “So, what's this about?”

“
First, I'd like to offer my condolences. Your dad seemed like a great guy and I'm glad I had the chance to meet him.”

Andrew nodded curtly and I thought I saw his eyes mist over. “Thanks,” he said.

“
Anyway, I'm here more or less as a favor to Brook. It's about your sister, Angela.”

“
What about her?”

“
Have you contacted her since your father's death?”

“
Yes. I called her yesterday. She didn't answer, so I left a message.”

I paused to make sure I understood. “You left her a message that your father was dead?”

“
Yeah. Not that she cares one way or the other.”

“
Do you have any idea where Angela works?”

He laughed. “Angela? Work? I don't think so. Last time we spoke, she called me a fucking prick, just because I wouldn't give her money.”

I offered a sympathetic nod. “Would you happen to know if she's been getting money elsewhere?”

He blinked at me. “Who told you that?”

“
Doesn't matter,” I said. “Brook just wanted to make sure someone contacted Angela about her father since she didn't have a current phone number to reach her. But it looks like you've been in contact with her, so ...”

“
Why didn't Brook just ask me directly, instead of some private eye from New Hampshire?”

I took his comment to be an insult, but I brushed it off. “I'm sure she didn't want to bother you. Now that you're taking over the business, she knew you'd be swamped.”

He lowered his head, shaking it slowly as he ran a hand through his hair. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't intend to make fun of your profession. Just because my life is a big pile of dog shit, doesn't mean I should take it out on you.”

“
No offense taken.” I turned to leave. “Why don't I let you get back to ... whatever you were doing.”

He looked up. I noticed the tears in his eyes.

“
It's hard to believe both of my parents are gone now. I didn't think I would feel so alone.”

I got the sense he needed to talk to someone, but why me? A handsome, smart, rich guy like him? He must have had scores of friends he could commiserate with.

“
I understand what you mean,” I said gently. “Both my parents are gone, too.”

He wandered over to the window and titled his face up to the sun. His blonde hair glistened in the sunlight. “My dad got off easy, you know.”

I took a step toward him, not sure I heard correctly. “I beg your pardon?”

“
It was my mom who got the shitty deal,” he said. “Can you imagine having an oxygen tank strapped to your side for months? Most days she couldn't get out of bed. People say that cancer is the worst way to die, but those people never saw my mom at the end of her life.”

“
Brook mentioned she had emphysema?”

“
Yeah. And she never smoked a day in her life, go figure.”

“
But your dad smoked,” I said.

Andrew left his sunny spot by the window and walked back to his desk. “He sure did. It's one of the reasons Angela hates our dad. She blames him for causing my mom's illness.”

An image of Dennis with a cigarette in his mouth came to mind. “Do
you
blame your dad for causing your mom's illness?”

He breathed in through his nose in a controlled manner. When he exhaled, his lips quivered slightly. “Yeah, I guess I do. When Mom got sick, he wouldn't stop smoking. He didn't even try. That pissed me off, but we all knew my dad wouldn't change.”

“
This is none of my business,” I said with hesitation. “But how'd you feel when your dad married Brook so soon after your mother's death?”

He snorted. “Not surprised. I knew my dad couldn't be alone for very long. And let's be honest. She didn't want to work as a maid for the rest of her life.”

“
Do you think they had an affair while your mom was still alive?”

“
I'm sure they did.”

“
Do you think your mom knew about it?”

He shrugged. “She must have known. Women have a sense for that sort of thing, don't they?”

I nodded. “I think so. Although some women would rather live in denial. It's a safe place to be.”

“
I suppose.” Andrew sat down on the edge of his desk and fidgeted with a stack of papers. He seemed to be stalling, as if he wanted to ask a question, but didn't know how to begin. Finally, he looked up and said, “So I understand that your boyfriend used to date Jennifer Healy. Does it bother you?”

I hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn, so I fumbled. “Um, well, no. It doesn't really bother me too much.”

He smiled at the obvious lie. “Who could blame you if it did? They certainly seem to get along well. One might even think they appear close.”

I laughed nervously. “Max is free to be friends with whomever he wants. I've found that if you try to control someone, they usually end up doing the exact thing you don't want them to do.” I paused to gauge his reaction. “But their friendship
does
seem to bother you.”

He gave me a fake look of surprise. “Who, me?”

“
You have a thing for Jennifer,” I said matter-of-factly. “So I get it.”

“
Is it that obvious?”

“
Pretty much,” I said. “You couldn't take your eyes off her the other night.”

“
Shit. So much for subtlety, huh.”

“
What is it about Jenn that is so appealing?” I asked, just to get a guy's perspective, and to figure out what Max had been attracted to.

“
Jenn is not like other girls, but it's hard to explain. She's aloof. And there's something very sad and mysterious about her. I mean, I know I've only known her a short time, but I've never had a hard time getting a girl to go out with me. I'd have to say, she's the first.”

I digested the information and had to agree. There
was
something mysterious about Jenn. “Maybe now that she no longer works for your dad, she'll be more open to having a date with you.”

He brightened. “You think that's why she wouldn't go out with me?”

I immediately regretted saying it. “I don't know. It was just a thought.” I looked at my watch and feigned a shocked expression. “Damn, it's almost noon. You probably have a busy day so I don't want to take up anymore of your time.”

“
It's no bother,” he said. “Do you have plans for lunch? The restaurant downstairs makes a decent club sandwich. My treat.”

An invitation to lunch? Most likely so he could continue bending my ear about Jennifer. No thanks. I wasn't in the mood. I thought about Jennifer more than I wanted to as it was. “Thanks anyway,” I said, “I'm supposed to meet up with someone.”

“
Okay. Well, maybe you could put a good word in for me, next time you see Jennifer?”

“
Sure, why not.”

As I walked down the hall toward the exit, Vivian was still at her desk. She raised her head slightly to acknowledge me as I left. “Have a good afternoon, Ms. Woods.”

* * *

When I got to Carter's room, I relayed the details of my meeting with Andrew. “He says he hasn't talked to his sister in months. He has no idea what her financial situation is, or if she's come into money recently. Basically, he wasn't much help. Did you find anything with the photos you took from Angela's apartment?”

Carter gave me a satisfied grin. “I think I found proof that Angela is not our blackmailer.”

“
What? How?”

“
Take a look at this.” He handed me his iPhone. “It's a receipt for Joe's Cafe, in Orlando. Look at the date and time. March fifteenth at eleven-thirty-five a.m. There's no way she could have left West Palm Beach Airport at ten-thirty and be in Orlando by eleven-thirty. It's at least a two-hour drive with no traffic.”

I plopped down on the bed and let out a sigh. “Well, this only proves that she didn't
physically
pick up the money. Maybe Angela had a partner or a friend to go to the airport for her.”

“
It's possible, but does Angela seem like the kind of person to trust someone with that kind of money? She nearly killed me when she saw me going through her stuff.”

I shrugged. “You have a point.”

“
Besides,” Carter said. “After looking through all her receipts, I didn't find any large ticket items. I would have expected her to at least go out for an expensive dinner, or buy a nice pair of shoes. Some kind of small indulgence, but there was nothing in those receipts. Unless she's being extremely careful.”

“
So what do we do now? Give up on Angela and start looking for new suspects?”

“
Well, there's another idea I had.” Carter leafed through some papers on his desk then handed one to me. “I was able to get a few shots of her daytimer that was on her desk. Angela keeps a pretty regular schedule. Every Tuesday at seven, Thursday's at six and Saturdays at ten a.m she has a standing appointment at the Delray Beach Community Center. When I checked out their website, those times coincide with a grief support group. Angela must still be having a rough time dealing with her mother's death, even after a year.

“
I'll admit. Three support group meetings a week is overkill.”

“
Exactly,” Carter said. “So I did more digging and found out that Angela is actually involved in a volunteer group run by a woman named Glenda White. She's a nurse, and also does work with hospice.

“
Wow,” I said, giving Carter a well-deserved look of respect. “You think we should call this Glenda person? She if she'll talk to us about Angela?”

“
It sure looks like Angela spends a great deal of time with her. I'll see if I can get an appointment with her. But my hunch is that Angela is not the person we should be focusing on. I think it's time to get Brook to tell us the truth about who her lover is.”

“
I agree with you, but she won't budge on that. She's afraid of getting him in trouble.”

“
Well.” Carter crossed his arms over his chest. “Then she never should've gotten you involved. If she wants our help, she needs to fess up. If you don't want to confront her on this, then I'll be happy to.”

“
You're right,” I said. “I'll call and see if she can see us as soon as possible. I'll tell her about Angela's receipts and the fact that she's probably not the blackmailer.”

When I called Brook, she agreed to meet with us at five.

“
I hope Max won't mind having dinner a little later,” I said, remembering his note this morning.

Carter waved a dismissive hand. “Hey, if you and Max have plans, I can meet with Brook alone.”

I thought about it. “No. Max will understand.” I glanced at my watch. 4:43. “He should be getting out of work soon. Maybe I'll head up to our room and explain in person before we go see Brook.”

“
Whatever,” he said.

I pushed myself up from the bed and headed to the door. “I'll meet you up at the penthouse just before five, okay?”

“
No problem.”

Chapter 13

Max was in the bathroom when I got back to our room. I could hear him whistling over the sound of running water. The smell of soap and shaving cream filled the air.

I sensed that Max was in a good mood, getting ready for our night out. There was an opened bottle of red wine on the table, and two glasses set out.

He waltzed into the kitchen where I was standing, wearing only a towel around his waist. The smile on his face was contagious. “Hey gorgeous,” he said to me brightly. “I have great news. Thought we could celebrate.”

“
Really?”

He scooped me up into his arms and kissed my lips. “The job is done. I worked my ass off today, working straight through lunch.”

“
You're done already? That's fantastic.” I gave him a congratulatory hug. “No wonder you're so happy.”

“
And now, we have the rest of our time in Florida to do stuff together. I was thinking, maybe tomorrow we could rent some jet skis. Or go sailing for the day. Anyway, let me get dressed, then we can have some wine and talk about it.”

“
Actually.” I bit my lip and could see his smile fading away. My heart ached at the thought of disappointing him. “Carter and I need to meet with Brook in a few minutes. It's kind of important. It shouldn't take very long.”

He regarded me curiously. “Is everything okay?”

“
Yeah, everything's fine.”

He seemed unsure. “No problem. Maybe I'll research online about outdoor activities we could do tomorrow till you get back.”

I went over, caressed his face, and kissed his lips again. “You're the best. I'll be back real soon.”

“
Sure. Tell Carter I said hi.”

* * *

When Brook invited us into the penthouse, I introduced her to Carter.

Carter smiled. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Foster.”

“
Please call me Brook. Would either of you care for a drink?”

“
We're fine,” I said, not wanting to prolong the meeting. “But thanks.”

“
Well,” she said, pouring herself a glass of wine. “It's been quite an emotional day. Dennis was cremated this afternoon.”

“
I'm sorry. Must be difficult for you,” I said, not wanting to waste precious time with platitudes.

“
Well,” she said. “I suppose you want to discuss the reason I asked you to come here. Can I trust both of you to keep this as quiet as possible?”

“
Yes,” I said. “But please understand, in the course of our investigation, there's a chance we might inadvertently expose your affair. If you're not prepared for that, then maybe we shouldn't go any further with this.”

Brook mashed her lips together, a confounded expression on her face. “Okay.” She walked over to the sliding doors leading to the balcony and stared out to the ocean. She sighed heavily and eventually turned to face us. “I suppose I should start by telling you that I'm bisexual.”

Carter and I exchanged a look, but neither of us responded to her confession.

She took a few deep breaths as if summoning courage. “The person I was having an affair with was Vivian.”

I thought she was joking. “Excuse me?” I said.

“
You heard me correctly,” she said with a bemused smile. “I was having an affair with my husband's secretary.”

I didn't know what to say.

Carter clapped his hands together. “Well, I have to say, this is a new one for me.”

Brook laughed lightheartedly. “I suppose you didn't see that coming. I didn't want to tell you because, well, it wasn't because I was embarrassed. It's because Vivian's husband Roy is a real douchebag. If he ever found out about us, he might hurt her. He's been violent towards her before. I've tried to talk her into leaving him, but she's too afraid.”

“
Did you tell her about the letter and the money demand?” I asked.

Brook shook her head. “No. I didn't want her to worry about it. And I guess I didn't want her to stop seeing me, either. ”

I raised an eyebrow. “You're still seeing her?”

“
Well, not since a month ago. We haven't had a chance to get together because Dennis hasn't gone out of town in the past month.”

“
How many times have you seen each other?” Carter asked.

“
Only three times. Like I said before, we were very careful. She was overly paranoid about Roy finding out.”

I pictured Roy at the dinner party, coming on to me with his cheesy compliments. Sure, he was kind of a scumbag, but I couldn't picture him hurting his wife. However, I didn't trust my judgment; I'd been wrong about that before. “What time does Vivian usually leave the office?”

“
She's usually gone by five-thirty, why?”

“
We should speak to her,” I said.

She gave me a stern look. “I told you, I don't want her to know about any of this.”

“
How do you know that
she
wasn't also blackmailed? Maybe she got the same letter in the mail with a demand for money, just like you did.”

Brook swallowed hard. “But she doesn't have money to give. She and Roy are over-extended on their house and they owe thousands in credit card bills.”

“
But the blackmailer might not know that,” I said calmly. “Think about it.”

Brook took a moment, massaging her temple as if it was the hardest decision she'd ever have to make. Finally, she exhaled with a groan. “Okay, you can talk to her. But … please, don't get her freaked out.”

“
You really seem to care about her,” I said. “Did Dennis have any clue that you liked women?”

“
I never told him.” Brook took a sip of wine with a sheepish smile. “He wasn't open minded. Most guys find it hot, but Dennis was old-fashioned.”

“
Who else knew about the affair?” Carter asked. “Did you tell anyone? Did Vivian?”

Brook hung her head, staring at the floor. “No. I told nobody, and Vivian wouldn't either. I've been with women before. Vivian never had. I was her first. We had an instant connection that's hard to explain.” Her face turned a light shade of red. “The first time, it just sort of happened at the office late one night. I stopped in to see Dennis, but Vivian told me he was in Fort Lauderdale having a meeting with a client. She was just getting off work, so I invited her out for a drink. Nothing happened that night, but it was pretty obvious there was something between us. The second time, I invited her to go on a spa weekend with me. And the third and fourth time, the office. There's an empty room used for storage. Not so romantic, but I guess we didn't care.”

Carter cleared his throat as if he were feeling slightly uncomfortable. “Look, um, we can't find any hard proof that Angela is involved in the blackmail. I found a credit card receipt at her apartment that proves she was in Orlando around the time of the money drop. Plus, where's the cash? Did she spend it all? If so, what did she spend it on?”

Brook put her hands up in exasperation. “How the hell do I know? That's why I hired you guys. You must have figured something out by now.”

“
There's one other possibility,” I said. “Carter found out that Angela has been involved in some volunteer work at the Delray Beach Community Center. Do you know anything about that?”

“
No. What does she do there?”

“
She's a volunteer facilitator for a non-profit organization called GriefShare. In fact, it looks like she spends three or four days a week at the center and travels to other cities around the state to help with fundraising for the program. We were thinking of approaching the woman who runs the group; her name is Glenda White.”

Brook seemed confused. “What are you thinking?”

“
Well, it just occurred to me. Assuming that Angela is the blackmailer, maybe she took the hundred grand and donated it to this GriefShare program.”

A harsh laugh escaped from Brook as she shook her head. “You've got to be kidding me. Why would she do that?”

“
You told me yourself that Angela was having a hard time dealing with her mother's death. It's not a stretch to think she might seek the comfort of a grief support group. Maybe she really found it helpful and wanted to give back by donating her time and money.”

Brook rolled her eyes. “That's
not
something Angela would do, believe me.”

“
Or maybe you just don't
want
to believe it true,” I replied curtly. “But perhaps we'll find out when I go to talk with Glenda White tomorrow morning. If I can get her to admit that their organization received a large donation recently, in the amount of a hundred thousand dollars, we may have our answer.”

“
Fine.” Brook made a flicking motion with her hand. “Does this mean you won't have to talk to Vivian?”

“
No, I still want to talk to her.” I checked my watch then looked at Carter. “If we go now, we still might catch her before she leaves the office.”

I told Brook that we'd be in touch soon.

As Carter and I got into the elevator, I sent Max a quick text, letting him know I'd be a little later than expected. I felt like shit making him wait, but he'd understand.