Eye of the Beholder (15 page)

Ellen sucked in a breath, her hand on her heart. “Is he all right?”

“Yeah, but there’s more … someone wrote a threat on the mirror.”

“What kind of threat?”

Owen paused and took her hand in his. “ ‘You’re a dead man.’ ”

Ellen felt a chill. She let go of Owen’s hand and took the couch cushion and hugged it to her chest. “What in the world’s going on? Who’s doing this? And why?”

“The police think it might be the same person. The break-in at Dad’s happened at 7:53 this morning—at least that’s when his kitchen clock hit the floor, and that would’ve left—”

“Enough time for someone to drive to Seaport and break into the house.”

Owen nodded. “Dad also said whoever did it was probably watching the apartment because he’d left for the office at a quarter till eight.”

“When did he call?”

“A couple minutes ago. He couldn’t talk long. The police were still there. He told me to tell you that it looks like Investigator Backus might be right about the Brinkmont connection.”

Ellen sighed. “Of course, he didn’t have the backbone to tell me himself after raking me over the coals about the Tehranis.”

“He sounded really uptight, Mom. I think he was more worried that he might sound panicked and upset you even more.”

“You’re probably right. Have you told Hailey?”

“No, I need to go do that now. The police will get to the bottom of this. Try not to worry, okay?”

Ellen lifted her eyebrows. “Right.”

Guy and Kinsey sat in straight-back chairs, arms crossed, and faced Investigator Zack Hamlin who stood leaning against the dining room table.

“All right,” Hamlin said, “I’ve got a clear picture of the break-ins. Let’s get back to the cocaine. Mr. Jones, why didn’t you just turn it in?”

Guy was aware that Kinsey had shifted her weight. “I fully intended to. But there are extenuating circumstances.”

Hamlin raised his eyes. “Why don’t you tell me about ’em?”

“The day the verdict came down on the Brinkmont case, my partners threw a victory dinner to celebrate. The wine was flowing
all evening, and everybody drank too much, except me. I don’t drink. After the party broke up, I made sure everyone went home in cabs—except Kinsey, who never would’ve made it from the cab to the front door. I decided to drive her myself, but I don’t know Tallahassee that well and couldn’t find anyone who knew how to find the address on her driver’s license. So I let her sleep it off on my couch. Just a friend not letting a friend drive drunk—nothing more.”

“So what’s the extenuating circumstance here?”

Guy felt the heat flood his cheeks. “I haven’t told my wife yet. We’ve had some disagreements lately. I started to tell her, but then clammed up and never could find the right time.”

“Miss Abbot, you look upset. Is there something you wanna say?”

“I didn’t realize he hadn’t told her, that’s all.”

Hamlin thumped his fingers on the table. “Go on, Mr. Jones.”

“I knew if I turned in the cocaine, you’d have to question Kinsey.”

“So you
knew
about the cocaine, Miss Abbot?”

“Well, yes. Since I slept on the sofa, Guy had no choice but to confront me with it. But I don’t know anything about it. I wasn’t even sure what it was when he showed it to me. I don’t do drugs. I’ve passed every random drug test I’ve ever taken.”

“I see.” Hamlin stroked his mustache. “So why did you object to being questioned by the police?”

“Well, because, uh—”

“Because she was afraid that if the media got wind of it, an innocent situation would be made to look like a sleazy affair,” Guy said. “It would be an embarrassment to her, me, my wife—and the firm.”

“Is that true, Miss Abbot?”

“Yes.”

“So where do you think the cocaine came from?”

Kinsey shrugged. “It’s baffling. The only thing I can think of
is that the intruder either put it there or dropped it by mistake.”

“Or it was deliberately planted by one of the plaintiffs in the Brinkmont case,” Guy said. “They were expecting to win a huge sum and got nothing. Maybe someone wanted to get even.”

Hamlin gave a nod. “Interesting thought. I’ll have to check, but to my knowledge, no call was ever made to the Tallahassee police department suggesting we check out your apartment for drugs.”

Guy put his briefcase in the car and then walked Kinsey to hers. “Quite a night, eh?”

“My head is spinning and my heart’s doing flip flops. At least the cocaine issue isn’t going to embarrass either of us now.” Kinsey’s eyes seemed to search his. “Guy, why didn’t you tell me you hadn’t told Ellen I spent the night?”

“I don’t discuss my private life with you.”

“Or with her either, apparently.”

“Look, I’ve come up against a brick wall in my marriage, and it’s inappropriate for me to talk to you about it. The person I should be communicating with is Ellen. If I’d done a better job of it, I wouldn’t have to go home now and face the music.”

“Well, if you need me to back up your story, you know where to find me.”

“I really wish you’d stay with a friend until we find out what’s going on.”

“The police officers said everything’s fine at my place.”

He looked into her eyes and saw fear. “Why don’t you stay at the Holiday Inn Express? I’ll pay for it.”

“No, I’m fine. Really. If someone wanted to get at me, he’d have done it by now. By all indications,
you’re
the target.”

Guy rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

“I’ll go home and lock myself in and turn on the security system. If somebody gets through all that, I’ll sic Grayson on him.”

Guy smiled without meaning to. “You sure you’re all right?”

“I’m a big girl. You’d better get on the road or you’re going to be falling asleep at the wheel. I’m sure Ellen will be relieved to see you. She must be beside herself.”

Guy opened the door, and Kinsey got in. “I’ll call Brent and give him the details. Keep your doors locked. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Ellen went in the guest room and closed the door. She picked up her cell phone and dialed.

“Hello.”

“Mina, it’s Ellen.”

“I’m glad you called! I saw on TV what happened to your house and could not reach you there. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m staying at my son and daughter-in-law’s.” Ellen told Mina everything that had happened from the time she got home and found the house ransacked until Guy called Owen and told him about the break-in at the apartment.

“This is much worse than I thought,” Mina said. “Who would do such things?”

“Everything seems to point to a lawsuit Guy just won. The police think maybe someone on the losing side is angry. The frightening part is we don’t know anything for sure, or whether the threat is real or just intended to shake us up.”

“I am so sorry. There is enough fear in world today without this. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Thank you, but no. We just need to work with the police here and in Tallahassee and let them get their heads together. How is Ali?”

“Humiliated and angry. Media people follow him everywhere, shouting questions, taking pictures. Patients see his face on TV, read about him in newspaper. He has done nothing wrong. But he is born in Iran so that makes him terrorist?”

Ellen put her right hand on her left shoulder and pressed her fingers on the tight muscles. “You know, Mina. I think I’m about ready to go live on a deserted island.”

Guy got in his car and locked the doors. He looked in the rearview mirror and focused on Kinsey’s taillights until they blended into an endless stream of glowing red.

He looked up at the yellow crime scene tape that had been strung across the front door of his apartment, hit again with the bone-chilling, heart-stopping, there’s-no-place-to-hide fear that had gripped him when he read the words on the mirror.

Whoever wrote them must have been connected to the Brinkmont case. But how long would it take the police to narrow down the possibilities? There were thirty-six plaintiffs in the case, and probably sympathetic family members and friends who believed Brinkmont was responsible for their health problems and should have been made to pay. How much manpower and money could be spared for that kind of investigation?

Guy gripped the steering wheel and realized his hands were shaking. He turned on the motor and backed out of his parking space.

He took the back streets and turned onto Madison, then drove several miles past the capitol building and stopped at the red light at Trellis. Kinsey’s condo was just a few miles down Trellis. What could it hurt to swing by there, just to be sure?

Guy tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. Was he being overprotective? Kinsey was a grown woman, certainly capable of pulling into the garage and letting the door close behind her.

The light turned green and Guy went straight ahead.

 15
 

G
uy Jones opened his eyes wide and blinked several times to get rid of the sandy sensation. His headlights spotlighted a row of pink crape myrtle trees up ahead. He pressed gently on the brakes, then turned the car into the driveway and pulled up behind Ellen’s white Thunderbird.

He sat for a moment, holding a Styrofoam cup of lukewarm coffee and rehearsing in his mind what he wanted to say to her—what he
had
to say.

He got out of the car and jogged up the porch steps, then took the key from under the mat and opened the front door. The faint aroma of popcorn reminded him that he hadn’t eaten dinner.

He walked softly through the living room and down the hall past Owen and Hailey’s room, relieved to see light under the doorway to the guest room. He peeked in and saw Ellen lying on the bed atop the comforter, her eyes closed, the afghan she had made Hailey for Christmas draped over her.

“Ellen?” he whispered. “Honey, are you awake?”

The sound of her breathing told him she wasn’t. Guy went over and sat in the rocker, longing to put his arms around her and almost forgetting they were at odds. Their differences seemed insignificant in comparison to the looming threat—and his bad decision not to tell Ellen about Kinsey staying at the apartment. He wondered if all the years of being faithful would be enough to offset the doubt, disappointment, and anger that Ellen would likely feel. How he dreaded dumping all that on an already fragile relationship. He prayed for the umpteenth time tonight.

Lord, please help me make it right
.

Guy closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head against the rocker. What if the police couldn’t figure out who was responsible for threatening him? What if he and Ellen had to live with it, never knowing if or when someone might strike again? And what if whoever threatened him decided to go after Ellen? His imagination displayed one horrible scenario after another. Finally he forced himself to picture only a blank screen …

“When did you get here?” said a sleepy voice.

Guy opened his eyes and almost forgot where he was. He glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand. “Uh, a couple hours ago. I must’ve dozed off.”

Ellen sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Help me get this comforter off so you can get under the covers,” she said. “I’m sure the drive was exhausting.”

“Not as exhausting as what I need to talk to you about.”

Ellen yawned. “You want some coffee?”

“No, I don’t want to wake Owen and Hailey.” Guy got up and sat on the side of the bed next to Ellen. “I need to finish telling you what I was in the process of telling you when Mina’s phone call interrupted us.”

“About what?”

Guy breathed in and slowly let it out. “The dinner at Savvy’s.”

“I thought we put it behind us.”

“This isn’t about your missing the dinner, it’s about a decision I made later.”

“Can’t it wait till morning?”

“No. I need to talk to you while we have some privacy.”

Ellen turned to him, a puzzled look on her face. “All right.”

“You know how our office get-togethers are—everyone was drinking, except me. After the party broke up, I made sure the others went home in cabs. But Kinsey was too smashed to walk
to the front door, and I didn’t think sending her home in a cab was a good idea, so I decided to drive her home myself. I looked at the address on her driver’s license and had no idea how to find her place, and no one at Savvy’s knew either. So I made a decision.”