“I’ll tell you the same thing I told that tiny cop … Sammy was a sweet girl. Too sweet. She often got played, taken advantage of, but the girl had a heart of pure gold. It’s bullshit what happened to her.”
“And, do you know what happened?”
Jaclyn shrugged a shoulder and replied, “They say that biker killed her, but I don’t believe it. That MC is diligent about keeping their shit out of this town. They keep to themselves. I don’t see why that would change just because Sammy asked him for help in that bar, then bailed. Doesn’t make sense.”
“She told you that she was asking him for help?”
“Yeah, she pulled one on him, making him think she was looking to hook up, then tried asking him for help with the shit with Tony. Then some bitches busted in and she lost her nerve.”
I decided to ignore the bitches comment. What the hell is up with everyone wanting to call strong, independent women bitches anyway?
Instead I asked, “What do you know about Carlton, her ex?”
“That pissant was just another of her charity cases. She barely went out with him, just kept saying yes because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She never even liked him that much, ya know?”
“Was there someone else? Someone she was serious about?”
“Nah, not that she said. After that mess with Carlton, she wanted to steer clear from guys for a while.”
“What about her brother, Tony?”
Jaclyn’s face turned thunderous and she scowled.
“That fuckin’ weasel. He didn’t deserve Sammy, the way he fucked up repeatedly and always ran to her to bail him out. She wouldn’t give up on him though, always said she hoped he’d turn his shit around.”
I was about to ask her another question, when she scrunched up her face then snapped her fingers and said, “He called her that night.”
“What? Who? Tony?”
“Yeah, I forgot about it until just now. We’d gone out for drinks after closing, that’s when she told me about what was going on with Tony and his bookie, and trying to get that biker’s help. We’d had a couple and I was trying to talk her into cutting Tony loose, once and for all, when he called.”
“What did he want?”
“He was pissing and moaning about her not bailing him out with that bookie. The fucker was actually pissed that she hadn’t agreed to sell her body in order to cover his debt. Can you believe that shit?” She sneered, and I had to admit, I could not believe that shit. “Her own brother wanted her to prostitute herself for stupid shit he’d done. Doesn’t get much lower than that…”
“No it doesn’t,” I agreed. “What did she say?”
“Sammy tried to calm him down, but he was on something, totally out of control. He ended up hanging up on her. We Ubered home that night, and that was the last time I saw her.” Jaclyn looked over my head at the wall and remembered, “She was laughing as she fell out of the car, and said she’d see me at work the next day. By the time I got in for my shift, the cops were waiting to tell us that she was gone.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said sincerely, thinking how awful it would be if something like that happened to one of my friends.
“I didn’t believe them at first. I didn’t want to…”
“So you were the last person to see her alive?”
Jaclyn’s gaze narrowed and she said, “I was already cleared by the cops.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that,” I assured her. “I’m just trying to get all of the facts straight.”
“Yeah, other than whoever killed her,” she replied, her voice sharp. “I was the last one. I told them about our night out, but I’d forgotten about Tony’s phone call until now.”
“I’ll look into it, and let the cops know,” I assured her.
“I hope you guys find the son of a bitch who did this and make him pay. Sammy was a sweet girl, she didn’t deserve to go out like that.”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised, rising from the chair and holding out my card. “Please call me if you think of anything else.”
It looked like I needed to pay another visit to Tony.
I looked on the inside and outside of the bagel shop, but didn’t see Tony’s stringy-haired ass anywhere, so I went in and asked the older gentleman behind the counter.
“Tony hasn’t been in for about a week,” the man told me. “Never called in or anything, so I gave his job to that kid.”
I followed his finger to see the teenager washing dishes in the back.
“Can you please call me if you hear from him?” I asked, handing him my business card and wondering where else I should look for Samantha’s brother.
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he replied, taking the card from my fingers. “But I gotta say, you really shouldn’t get involved with the likes of him. That kid’s bad news.”
I nodded in agreement and shot him a small smile, then walked over to Tony’s apartment building.
Once again, my knocks on his door went unanswered, so I went to the landlady’s place again.
“He ain’t been here in about a week,” she said sourly. “He owes me two months’ rent.”
“I’ll let you know if I find him,” I promised, then got out of there and headed to Amy May’s.
It was definitely a lemon meringue cupcake kind of day.
When I walked in to Amy May’s, I was surprised to see the gang was all there.
Carmen and Amy May were sitting at a table talking. Carmen had her recorder in her hand, her notebook on the table, and all of her pens and pencils lined up in a row, which meant she was probably interviewing Amy May for the paper.
Bea and Shannon were standing at the counter, a row of different cupcakes lined up in front of them, and they were tasting the cakes and taking notes. Bea was in uniform, so I figured she must have been meeting Shannon on her break to pick their cake for the reception.
After the conversation I’d had with Jaclyn, and thinking about what it would be like to suffer the loss of one of my girlfriends, I rushed in and gave each of them a hug and a kiss.
“What’s all this?” Amy May asked when I let her go.
“I just love you guys,” I replied, then escaped into the back in search of that lemon meringue cupcake.
“Hey,” Bea said from behind me as I pulled the pretty yellow cupcake from the cooler. “Is everything okay?”
I filled her in on what I’d learned from Jaclyn, then asked, “What ever happened with the Mother Ship lady?”
Bea shot me a dirty look, then replied, “We went out with her to the last place she’d seen it, then saw where she was living. Turned out she was squatting on someone else’s property.”
“Oh, no, you didn’t arrest her, did you?”
“No, I didn’t arrest her, but I did get her set up with a psychiatrist and into a shelter until she can get on her feet.”
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know what to do for her.”
“No problem. It’s my job, and I was glad to help her. I just wish I could have done more.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said, then remembering the taste testing I’d walked in on, I asked,
“You guys decide on a flavor for your cake?”
“I’m in love with the tiramisu, and Shannon wants the java. Luckily, I think they complement each other pretty well, so we’ve agreed to do half and half.”
“Awesome,” I said, already anticipating the flavors on my tongue.
“So, I hear you’re all going to Hawaii,” Bea said, bumping me with her shoulder as we walked back out front. “Things are pretty serious, huh?”
“Yeah,” I agreed with a big, sappy smile. “We’re in love and Cade’s taking us to meet his family. I never thought, after everything went down with Eric, that I’d ever want to be in this place again, but it’s different with Cade. I’m really, really happy.”
“That’s great,” Shannon said as she sucked some frosting off of her thumb. “You deserve it.”
“I’m happy for you,” Bea a
dded, and since she hadn’t been a hundred percent on board with Cade initially, it meant a lot that she’d grown to accept my relationship with him.
“It’s so awesome, how happy you all are,” Carmen said with a sigh. “Amy May and Jason, Bea and Shannon, and Lila and Cade. It’s like love exploded all over all of you. I’m so totally jealous.”
“Have you given any more thought to asking Bran out?” Amy May asked, and Carmen turned to me with a glare.
“What?” I asked, holding up my hands. “It wasn’t me this time.”
“C’mon, you guys,” Carmen said, looking at all of us as we watched her expectantly. “Don’t you think if he was interested, he would have made a move by now?”
“Not necessarily,” Shannon replied.
“He may be intimidated by your beauty,” Amy May added.
“You haven’t exactly put out any vibes that said you’re interested,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, from what everyone has said, you won’t even talk to him,” Bea said. “You need to let him know that you’re into him.”
Carmen rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, and if a sigh could be sarcastic, she definitely sighed sarcastically.
“Fine.”
“You’ll do it?” Amy May asked, clapping her hands with excitement.
“We have training tomorrow, will you do it then?” I asked, putting the pressure on.
“Yes, fine,” Carmen said again. “I’ll put the vibes out tomorrow. I’ll talk to him. And, if he doesn’t make a move by the end of our session, I’ll ask him out before I leave.”
“Pinky swear?” Shannon asked, and we all laughed.
“Pinky swear,” Carmen agreed, then crooked her pinky so we could all take turns shaking pinkies with her.
Once we were seated and I was enjoying the sweet, tart flavor of my cupcake, Carmen cleared her throat and looked at us, her expression conveying her nerves.
“But,” she began, “if I put myself out there and he shoots me down, you guys owe me a girl’s night, with lots of sappy movies and tequila.”
“You’ve got a deal,” I promised, and everyone around the table agreed.
“I don’t know what’s taking her so long,” I told Bran when we were halfway through our session. “She said yesterday that she’d be here.”
“Maybe she sent you a message,” Bran suggested, so I took a break and hobbled over to where I’d left my bag and got out my phone.
Sure enough, I had a missed call from Carmen.
“She left a voicemail,” I called, holding up a finger to let him know I’d just be a minute.
Hey, Lila, it’s me. I swear I’m not trying to bail on you, or renege on what I told you guys yesterday, but my editor told me to follow up with Samantha Stacker’s ex this morning for the piece. He wants to run it tomorrow. Anywho, I was on my way to Carlton’s when I saw her brother Tony hanging out outside the Greenswood Motel. Didn’t you say you were looking for him? All right, call me when you get this. Later!
I looked at the time of the missed call, and saw that it was about twenty minutes ago. If I hurried, I might still be able to catch Tony and question him about what Jaclyn had told me.
“Hey, Bran, I hate to bail on you, but, I need to try and catch a guy at the Greenswood Motel to question him about my case.”
Bran wiped his face with a hand towel, then walked over to me.
“That’s where that woman was murdered, right? The case you’re working on?”
“Yeah, Carmen thought she saw Samantha’s brother over there, and I really need to talk to him.”
“I’ll come with you,” Bran said, already heading for the door.
“You don’t have to,” I assured him. “I know you have to get ready for work yourself … I can handle it on my own.”
“C’mon, I’m curious. Let me see the PI in action,” Bran pleaded, his face hopeful.
“Oh, all right, but no trying to take over, or be a hero.”
“I promise,” he said, crossing his hand over his heart. “I’ll leave all the rough stuff to you.”
“Okay, let’s go. I don’t want him to disappear on me again.”
Luckily, the motel wasn’t too far from the gym, and Bran just jumped in the van with me, rather than bringing two cars. I pulled into the parking lot and searched the area.
“Is that him?” Bran asked, and my gaze followed his finger to a folding chair by the pool. Sure enough, Tony was sitting there by the edge of the pool, his head in his hands.
“Sure is.”
I rounded the pool with Bran on my heels, then stopped next to Tony’s chair and kicked the leg.
“Hey,” Tony complained, his head shooting up.
“A lot of people are looking for you, Tony,” I said, hoping I sounded tougher than I felt.
“Oh, yeah, what for?” Tony asked with a sneer.
He looked like he hadn’t bathed in days, and his eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d been crying.
I ignored his question; instead I looked out over the pool and said, “So, this is where they found her, huh?”
Tony followed my gaze and replied, “Yeah.”
“I heard that you called her the night she died. That you were pissed she wouldn’t sell her body for your bookie in order to pay off your debt … That true?”
Tony scowled at me, his finger playing with a frayed hole in his worn-out jeans.
“I didn’t want my sister bein’ no whore for nobody,” Tony argued. “I may have been pissed that she didn’t take care of things like she promised, but I never would have let her do that for me. I swear it.”
“I heard you were yelling at her. That you hung up on her, you were so mad.”
Tony tweaked his nose and said, “I was on a bad trip that night … I loved my sister. She was the one person who always stood by me, no matter what.”
“So you two didn’t end up meeting up that night? After she left the bar?”
“What?” Tony asked, his face turned toward me, but his eyes still far away. “No … I passed out. That was the last time I talked to my sister, and I yelled at her.”
He seemed sincerely upset, and I was about to apologize, maybe offer condolences, when Bran tapped my shoulder.
I looked back at him to see him lift his chin toward the second floor of the motel. I didn’t see anything at first, just a row of doors on the landing that led to the motel rooms, but then a small spot of color caught my attention.
I walked toward the stairs that led up to the second floor, and as I climbed them, the colorful spot came in to focus. There was a little boy, maybe six or seven, hiding in the corner of the landing. Tucked away, so that if you weren’t looking for him, he’d probably go unnoticed.
He looked up as I crossed the landing, and I saw that he was wearing headphones and playing on some sort of tablet. When he caught sight of me, he stood up quickly and looked ready to bolt.
I held up my hand, asking him to stop, and, luckily, he did. I looked around, wondering which room he stayed in and where his parents were, then walked slowly toward him.
I motioned for him to take off his headphones, and he did so kind of reluctantly.
“Hey,” I said, keeping my voice low and gentle. “I’m Lila, what’s your name?”
“Terence,” he replied, after giving me a onceover.
“It’s nice to meet you, Terence. Are you staying here with your parents?”
“My mom,” he replied, glancing toward the door on my right. “She’s sleeping. She works at night.”
“Have you been staying here long?” I asked, hoping he’d keep talking.
Terence nodded and shifted his tablet under one arm.
“Were you here when all of the cops came?”
Another nod.
“Terence,” I began, crouching down so I was at eye level with him. “Did you see the pretty blonde lady with the short hair, before the cops came?”
Terence looked toward the room where I assumed his mother was sleeping, then his
eyes shifted back to me and he nodded again.
I tried to hold back my excitement and kept my tone even when I asked, “Was she with anyone?”
“Yes,” he replied softly, and I had to stop myself from jumping up and down.
“Can you tell me what he looked like?”
“He was big, with yellow hair,” Terence explained. “And he was wearing a suit, like Bruce Wayne.”
Carlton…
“Thank you so much, Terence, you’re the best,” I said, pausing to ruffle his hair before darting down the steps and running to Bran. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
I took off running for my van, and once Bran was safely inside, I peeled off and explained, “That kid saw Samantha here with her ex the night she was murdered. That’s who Carmen is with now.”
Bran’s expression turned thunderous and he urged, “Go faster.”
I had Bran shoot a text to Bea to let her know what I’d learned and where we were going.
I parked on Twenty-Fifth again, but this time I went around to the back of Carlton’s condo, pausing to peer in windows as Bran and I circled the unit. When we got around to the kitchen window, I looked inside to see Carmen sitting on a stool at the counter. Carlton was standing in the kitchen.
Carmen had her stuff lined up for taking notes, and it looked like Carlton was refilling their coffee cups.
Gone was the sniveling mess that I’d met. Instead, Carlton was dressed in a suit, ready for work, and he was perfectly groomed and decidedly less snotty.
I pointed toward the back door, then followed Bran that way. The doorknob turned when I tried it, so I eased it open, careful not to make a racket as we stepped inside.
“So, you and Samantha only dated a short while, and you were over long before her murder, is that correct?” I heard Carmen ask.
“Yes,” Carlton replied, his tone conveying boredom and not an ounce of sadness. If I hadn’t seen him myself, I’d think this was a totally different man than the one I’d talked to. “It was a fling really. Samantha and I wanted different things, and she wasn’t the sort of woman I’d want for a wife, if you know what I mean.”
“No, actually, I don’t know what you mean,” Carmen responded, and I could tell she was offended on Samantha’s behalf. “Why don’t you explain it to me.”