Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 08 - Foul Play (23 page)

CHAPTER 35

“Peter,
I’m Gabby St. Claire. I met with you last week about your sister Rose.” I waited on the stoop outside his apartment door, realizing this was a cold call and that it might not be productive.

“Of
course. Of course.” His gaze traveled to Riley.

“And this is my friend Riley.”

The two shook hands, and Riley muttered something about it being nice to meet him.

“My mind isn’t as good as I thought it was. I thought for certain the young man with you last time had a British accent.”

Great. He realized Riley wasn’t Garrett. Riley didn’t seem bothered, though, and instead he smiled affably.

“
What can I do for you, Gabby?” Peter asked. He invited us in out of the cold, and we sat on the couch of his neat little apartment. He perched across from us, his eyes darting back and forth between Riley and me.

“Peter, someone found a red wig in the maintenance closet
,” I started. “Do you know anything about that?”

He
was already nodding. “Sure do. I found it stuffed in a locker. I didn’t know what to do with it exactly, so I stored it in the closet and decided to wait until someone reported they’d lost it. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. When did you find it?”

He shrugged. “Memory’s not that great, but I think it was just a couple of days ago.”

“Is there anything else strange you’ve seen at the school, Peter?”

He sucked in a long breath, his gaze nervously darting about. “Well, I did find some money the other day. I turned it in to that temporary manager lady.”

“Paulette?”
I questioned.

“No, the other one. Bennie.”

“How much did you find?” Riley asked.

“It was a
Benjamin Franklin.”

Another $100 bill?
Who had been losing that amount of money without reporting it? Something fishy was going on.

“One more question, Peter. The
gym door. Why do you keep leaving it ajar at night?”

He cringed. “What are you talking about?”

I leaned closer. “Someone keeps leaving doors to the Cultural Arts Center unlocked. Why don’t you tell me why you’re doing that?”

His hands trembled. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“Peter, there are a lot of lives hanging in the balance right now. The longer you wait to tell me what’s going on, the more trouble you could be in.”

He let out a moan. “I knew it was just a matter of time before someone discovered me.
I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Who asked you to leave the door open?”

He shook his head, hanging it down in shame. “You’ve got to believe me. I have no idea. I got a note with some money. The janitor job doesn’t pay that much. It seemed so harmless.”

“Then Scarlet died.”

“I got another note saying that if I didn’t keep leaving the door open they’d report me. Then I’d be out of their hush money and out of a job. Without a job, I’ll be out on the streets. I just couldn’t face that possibility. I’ve been there before. I couldn’t go back.”

I stared at him, trying to ga
uge the sincerity of his words. His shoulders drooped and his eyes were downcast, as if the guilt were eating him alive.

I
decided I believed him. He was desperate. Guilty perhaps, in his own way, but not guilty of murder or vandalisms.

“Is there anything else you can think of?”

“I found some paper.” He wandered into his apartment and returned again with something in hand.

“May I?” I reached for it.

He nodded.

I took it from him and studied it. This was the same paper Bennie was using for her scrapbook. I didn’t see how this was connected
. “Where was this?”

“Outside the gym door one morning.”

What? How did that tie in to this? Or did it?

I
didn’t know, but I had to find out the answers soon.

***

“I miss this,” Riley said as we walked back to his car. With one finger, he pointed back and forth between him and me.

I smiled. “Me too.”

He let out a long sigh. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like things are ever going to return to normal, does it?”

I knew exactly what he meant. “No, I guess life is always about change.
Adapt or die. Isn’t that what the saying is?”

Just then, my phone chirped. I saw Garrett’s number on the screen. “Can you excuse me for a minute?”

“Of course.”

I stepped away and answered. “Hey there.”

“How’s it going, Gabby? I wanted to check on you. Can I swing by tonight?”

I thought of Riley and something twisted in my stomach. He was taken now, I reminded myself. And so was I, I supposed. “Of course. I’d love to see you.”

“Great. I’ll come by after work.”

“Call first, okay? I’m out doing some work. I want to make sure I’m there.”

“Of course.”

I walked back to the car and smiled at Riley.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “It is. I just have one more person I need to speak with. You want to come along or drop me off at the car?”

“I’m with you, Gabby. All the way.”

***

“Hello again,” Marjorie said.

H
er words sounded dull and monotone, just as they had before. Was this grief or was this the way she always was?

“Thanks for taking time out of your schedule
.” I waited for her to invite us inside, but she never did so I remained in the hallway. “This is my friend, Riley.”

They nodded at each other.

“I don’t have much time between classes. But you said it was urgent. What’s going on?” She crossed her arms, apparently content to have this conversation in the hall.

That was fine. I’d just get
straight to the point. “Things are getting complicated. I just need to ask you—did you remember anything else strange about Scarlet’s final days? Anything at all?”

She stared at me a moment, looking a
little dumbfounded. “Not really. Why?”

“It’s of the utmost importance. Someone
is on the verge of being … wrongfully accused in her death. I need to find the real culprit.”

“Wrongful
ly accused? How do you know that? Doesn’t everyone claim to be innocent?”

“Well, yes. But I know this for a fact.”

She continued to stare. “How?”

She wasn’t going to let this drop, was she?
“Just trust me.”

“Why should I trust you? I don’
t know you.”

I let out a sigh. “This person has actually been a
ccused of vandalizing the theater, but they’re trying to nail her for Scarlet’s death, too. That person is me.”

Her eyes widened.

“I knew it was better if I didn’t tell you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be
here.” She took a step back.

“I assure you that I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Like I said, every killer says that.”

I sighed again. “But I mean it. I was set up. I have to find the real killer before I go to prison.”

“I don’t know what you want from me, then.”

“I need information. I need to know who didn’t like her, who she didn’t like, who broke up with her.”

“It wasn’t me,” a deeper voice said.

The door opened farther and I spotted a man there. A Latino man wearing a soccer jersey. My lips parted. “You’re not Roberto.”

“Who’s Roberto?” he asked.

“Scarlet’s boyfriend.”

“I was Scarlet’s boyfriend.” He thumped his chest.

“But you’re not Roberto.” Okay, I was a little dense sometimes, but I’d really thought Scarlet and Roberto were together. This didn’t fit the mental image I’d developed.
It didn’t fit my theory. At all.

“No, I’m Luis.”

“Are you Brazilian?” Maybe he was related to Roberto.

“I’m from Venezuela.”

“But you play soccer …”

“For ODU. What’s going on here?” He put his hands on his hips and looked back and forth between
Riley and me.

I shook my head, realizing I’d jumped to conclusions a little too quickly. “I was wrong, that’s what.”

“What’s the nature of this visit?”

“I’m trying to figure out who killed Scarlet. I was hoping to find out more information.” I wanted to keep shaking my head, shaming myself for assuming things. I should have known better.

“What do you need to know?” Luis asked.

“Why are you here?”

“I miss Scarlet. I wanted to pay my respects.”

“How long did you date?”

“Only a few weeks. Then she was cast for this play and seeing her was nearly impossible with both of our schedules. This play was important to her. She’d been taking dance classes and voice lessons since she was three or something. All she wants is to make it on Broadway one day. All she wanted, I should say.”

I heard the tenderness in his voice and realized he did care about her.
“Luis, what if someone got in Scarlet’s way? How do you think she would have reacted?”

His arms moved from his hips to cross over his chest.
“What do you mean?”

“What if someone was an obstacle
to achieving her dreams? What do you think she would have done?”

“She
’s the one who died here, so it seems pointless to accuse her of anything.” His voice hardened.

“
I’m not accusing anyone. I’m just trying to find out some answers. Would she have provoked someone enough that they might kill her? Anything you know would be helpful.”

His jaw relaxed
slightly. “She had some disagreements with the playwright.”

Arie
! There she was, coming up again. I couldn’t ignore that.

“What did she say?”

He loosened his arms as he shrugged. “She just didn’t like Arie that much. Nothing Scarlet did was good enough for her, Arie kept threatening to fire her if she didn’t shape up, and she was also critiquing her. I just thought that was Arie’s job, not that she was necessarily being hostile. I also remember that Scarlet said Arie was a wannabe actress who had no idea what she was talking about.”

“Sounds like she didn’t like her very much.”

“Scarlet could be a bit snooty sometimes,” Marjorie added. She glanced at Luis and tilted her head to the side. “It’s true.”

“This has all been helpful. Thank you.” I stepped toward the door.

“There’s one more thing I remembered,” Marjorie said.

I paused. “Okay.”

“That argument I heard outside of my window a couple of nights before she died? The person Scarlet was talking to had this strange way of emphasizing what seemed like every other word.”

Arie! Just what was she up to?

CHAPTER
36

After w
e talked to Marjorie, Riley dropped me off so I could pick up the car. He said he had some business to discuss with Nolen.

I hurried back to the apartment, utterly exhausted and my mind racing a million different directions.
Just as I stepped inside, Garrett called and said he was on his way over and bringing dinner.

For some reason, I
felt uneasy, but I pushed the impending feeling of awkwardness away. I had no reason to feel off balance. Life was going on.

He arrived fifteen minutes later with some Thai food in hand. We settled at my kitchen table, loaded our plates with pad Thai and sprin
g rolls, and began digging in. As we ate, I told him what I’d learned, strategically leaving out any details concerning Riley.

“Sounds like you’ve had a busy day.”

“I’d say. If there’s one thing jail taught me it’s that I never want to go back there again. It also taught me that our law system doesn’t always work the way it should.”

“
Life is flawed, Gabby, no matter how much we might want to be idealistic and not believe that.”

I squeezed his hand. “Yes, it is. Thanks for sticking by me, even with all the flaws.”

He leaned closer. “It’s been a pleasure.”

I closed my eyes as his lips brushed mine.

I wasn’t betraying Riley, I mentally told myself. I couldn’t live in limbo forever.

A loud knock sounded at the door.
I jumped up, overreacting at the noise. “Who could that be?”

I pulled the door open and saw Nolen and Riley standing there. Riley walked right in
and instantly grasped my arms. “Gabby, I’ve got good news.”

“I could use some good news.”

Riley’s gaze fell on Garrett and then on our leftover plates of food. He dropped his hands and stepped back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“We’re fine,” I insisted.

Nolen stepped inside and nodded. “Garrett.”

“You’re Garrett?” Riley said.
He extended his hand. “I’m Riley.”

“You’re Riley?” Garrett said.

The two men shook hands.

I clapped my hands once. “You stopped by with news?”

All three men turned toward me. Nolen spoke first.

“
Good news. The police found witnesses that prove you couldn’t have been at the scene of the vandalisms. I guess Paulette Zollin confirmed that she was with you when the gasoline was poured in the hallways. Someone else came forward and said they found a wig in one of the closets that matches the description from the video.”

“Does this mean they’re dropping the charges?”
I glanced at Garrett, hope igniting in me.

“Not yet, but t
here’s a good chance they will,” Nolen said.

“That isn’t good news. That’
s great news,” Garrett exclaimed.

“L
ie low for a while still, just to be on the safe side,” Nolen continued. “I guess Mr. Zollin is really pressing the police to figure out who’s behind these crimes. He carries a lot of weight around here.”

Garrett pulled me into a hug and twirled me around. “You see. I knew this would all work out, Love.”

My face flushed. “You did.”

I averted my gaze, trying not to look at Riley.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt,” Riley said. “But we knew you’d want to know. We spent the evening reviewing timelines and evidence. There’s no way these charges are going to stick.”

“I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate this. There’s a lot I want to d
o with my life. I can’t do any of it if I’m in jail.” I had to get some of my mojo back. Being in jail was a wake up call for me.

Riley shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m
glad to help.” He nodded at Garrett. “Good to meet you. Have a good night, you two.”

Sadness pressed on my heart. Right or
wrong, something about the moment seemed so bittersweet and surreal.

The men
went out and Garrett and I were left standing there. I turned to him and saw a new emotion in his eyes.

“Riley’s back, huh? The infamous Riley.”

“He heard what happened and wanted to help.”

“Sounds noble.” He pushed my hair behind my ear
, something unspoken in his gaze. “I know you’ve had a long day. I should go and let you rest, okay?”

I nodded, my heart being pulled in two different directions. “Okay.”

He kissed my forehead. “Anything at all that you need, you let me know.”

***

I sat on my couch staring vacantly at the wall when yet another knock at the door came. Before I could even get up and answer it, the door started to open.

With everything going on, I wasn’t taking any chan
ces. I popped to my feet and assumed a fight position.

Instead, Sierra
appeared. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she raised her hands in surrender.

“Hey,
Kung Fu Fighter.” She paused in the doorway. “I guess I should have knocked, otherwise I’m risking having you display some of your ninja-tastic moves.”

I let out a feeble laugh. “Yeah, when I’m not crime scene cleaning, I’m a ninja. I’ve been considering the career change for a while now.”

I sank back down into the cushions, my muscles feeling like jelly. Just Sierra.

She plopp
ed on the couch beside me. Her belly was starting to show, I realized. Seeing that little swollen bump there made her pregnancy even more real to me. She was going to be a mom!

Sierra pushed her glasses up on her nose. “
I’ve heard about everything going on. I can’t stop thinking about you, Gabby. How are you holding up?”

I pulled my knees to my chest, my typical “stressed” position.
“My head is spinning.”

“Anyone’s would be in your situation. And then there’s Riley …”

“And then there’s Riley,” I echoed, letting out a long sigh.

“Is he back
for good?” Sierra crossed her legs as she sat beside me.

For a moment, it felt like old times. Just me and Sierra having girl talk. About boys, of course. The only thing that would make it any more perfect would be Sierra’s world famous acorn brownies.

I shook my head, remembering Sierra’s question. “No, Riley’s only lending a hand until I’m cleared of the charges.”

She squinted at me.
“How’s that make you feel?”

I nibbled on my bottom lip for a moment
before grabbing my cat blanket and pulling it across my legs. “Strange. In one way it’s great to have him back. In another way, it just throws my emotions into a tailspin.”

“Did he give any indication
as to where the both of you stand? Where you stand together, I should say?”

I shrugged and leaned back harder into the couch.
I’d kept all these thoughts silent, but it felt good to have Sierra pull the answers from me. Talking about it helped me make sense of my thoughts. “No. I know Riley needs time before making any big decisions. Even then, the answer might be no.”

“I see. You’re kind of between a rock and a hard pace.”

“An all too familiar place. Plus, there’s the picture …” I winced as I remembered the photo I’d seen in his old apartment.

“What picture?” Sierra rubbed her belly
and scrunched her eyebrows together.

“I paid a visit to Olivia across the hall. There’s a picture there of Riley with his arm around a woman. A nurse, at that.”
I told myself not to frown, but I felt my lips pulling downward despite me.

Her eyes widened. “No …”

I nodded. “It’s true. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Did you ask who she was?”
Sierra stopped rubbing her abdomen, her lips slightly a part.

“
Olivia said the woman’s name was Daniela. Then she had to go. She had class.”

“Did you ask Riley
about it?”

“Then I’ll look neurotic. I mean, every time I see Riley with another woman, I assume the wors
t. First there was Veronica.” His fiancée. They’d called things off, Riley and I had started talking, and then Veronica had shown up again.

“
In your defense, they did get back together,” Sierra reminded me. “Only temporarily, though.”

“That’s true. But then there was Veronica again.”
I remembered that outing to Riley’s law school reunion a little too well. Just when I thought that woman was out of my life, she’d realized what she had in Riley and decided she wanted him back.

“And in that instant Veronica was trying to win him back. You
r fears weren’t unfounded. Of course, Riley wasn’t interested because he was engaged to you.”

Thank goodness. I remembered that moment
when Riley had reaffirmed his love for me. I’d felt so secure and loved.

“And then there was
Juliette.” I’d discovered information about her when Riley was in a coma and I’d found correspondence between the two of them. Of course I’d assumed the worst. What woman wouldn’t?

Sierra scrunched her nose up in an adorable frown.
“That was all so complicated. It did look bad, on the surface, at least.”

“I have trust issues.”
Of course, when I looked at my track record with men, I’d practically been programmed to have these issues. Something about me obviously screamed, “Cheat on me!”

Sierra leaned closer
, almost as if conspiring. “How about this—I’ll visit Olivia and see what I can find out for you. I actually do have a piece of her mail that I need to return.”

I sat up straighter.
She
was
conspiring and I loved her for it! “You’d do that?”

“Of course I would. That’s what friends are for.”
As Sierra studied me for a moment, she pressed her lips together in what appeared to be deep thought. “Listen, Gabby. I know Chad has been tightly wound around you lately. Give him some time to cool down.”

I raised an eyebrow
, wary about how much to share, how much to even let on that I knew. “You know?”

She let out a soft chuckle. “He wants to protect me. Me being pregnant has ignited something in him. In one way, it’s cute, I suppose. But
in another way, it’s grating. He’s taking everything entirely too seriously.”

“He doesn’t want to stress you out.”

“That’s kind of him, but I’m a big girl.” She pushed her glasses up higher on her nose.

“I think I’m majorly stressing him out.”

She opened her mouth and then shut it again. She wanted to say something else, I realized. I hesitated a moment, pondering whether or not I really wanted to know. Could I handle the truth?

“What aren’t you telling me
, Sierra?” I finally said.

Sierra tilted her head, softening her gaze.
“Gabby, everyone knows you were made for more than this. I’m not sure if you’re hanging on to life the way it is now because you’re afraid of letting go, afraid of changes, afraid of disappointing people. But, whatever is, it’s okay to look out for yourself.”

“Look out for
myself?” That concept seemed so foreign sometimes. It seemed like every time I started making progress in my life, something happened to stop me. Someone always needed me—at least, they needed someone. I knew what it was like to have no watching out for you. Was that why I didn’t want anyone else to experience that—because I knew how terribly isolating it was? No one should feel that alone.

Sierra nodded. “Get out there.
Apply for more jobs. Don’t be afraid to take risks.”

“I take risks all the time.”

“But you still keep plenty of safety nets. I just want to see you live up to your potential.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m trying.”

She wiped under her eyes. “Everything just makes me so emotional lately!”

I pulled her into a hug. “Oh, Sierra. Thank you so much for caring. It’s good to know I’ve got a friend like you. Everyone should.”

“You’ve got a friend in me.”

M
y lips parted in surprise. “You’ve been watching
Toy Story
?”

She patted her stomach. “What can I say? I need to familiarize myself with children’s movies.”

“Good for you. I look forward to watching them with you.” I stood and stretched. “But right now my first order of business is figuring out what’s going on at the Cultural Arts Center.”

Sierra stood also.
“Any leads?”

“A lot of leads. Maybe I just need a good night
’s rest in my own bed.”

She
smiled. “That’s right. In the morning everything looks better. Unless you’re beef cattle.”