Fever Rich: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (11 page)

He opened his arms wide, saying, “Come here.”

I looked at his arms. “What's that about?”

“Let me hug you. I feel like you need a hug so we can get this over with.” He said.

He lost his mind.

“I don't need a hug.” I protested as my heart began to beat fast in my chest.

“Mercedes, let me hug you.” He said.

“This is silly. I don't want a hug.” I looked down at the ground, where Barney decided it was a good time to take a nap. I mean, five steps outside of the house was enough to tire any dog out, right?

Charlie took a step back, his hand on his belly and laughed. “See, you're getting all worked up for nothing. We're friends, Mercy. Whether you like it or not, we are friends. Occasionally, I'm going to want to hug you. From time to time, I might pat your shoulder. If something more comes from that, then that's not in our hands. We'll deal with it at the time. For now, I am here visiting a friend – a hard-headed, stubborn friend, but a friend nonetheless.”

He had me there. Once again, I let this nearly impossible man stymie me. Why did I keep allowing him to win?

"You're right." I said.

Charlie smiled, feeling pretty proud of himself, I assume.

"No, before you start gloating, let me explain what it is I think you're right about." I warned him. "Maybe I am being hypersensitive. A few months ago, I was just a middle-aged nurse whose biggest problem was not having enough money to dish out to pay for constant car repairs for Gertrude."

"Who is Gertrude and why are you paying for her car repairs?" He asked.

I pointed to my car and the fluid stains that had taken up permanent residence on my concrete driveway. "That's Gertrude."

"And, now, what's changed?" He asked.

I looked around me. The neighborhood still looked the same, minus a splattering of missing lawn ornaments and Margie's patio set, which still befuddled me.
Who steals an entire patio set without being noticed?

"Everything has changed." I said. "Did you know that people around here think I'm some kind of detective or something. I don't know anything about crime fighting. I'm a nurse and I thought I was a pretty good one until..."

"Until when? Mercy, you are still a wonderful nurse. Why are you saying all this? You're not being very forthcoming with me." Charlie said.

"I'm trying to tell you, but I don't know if you'll be able to understand. Crime solving is in your blood. I'm just me. Alone." I knew I sounded like a pitiful spinster. That's not what I was going for, but I didn't know any better way to explain the mixed up feelings that were running through my veins.

"Who is this?" Margie stepped out onto her front porch. "Hello, handsome man."

I was glad for the interruption. I needed a breather.

"That's my neighbor Margie. She's a bit of a flirt." I explained to Charlie.

He automatically went into a gentleman cowboy mode, tilting his imaginary hat. "Well, hello, ma'am. Aren't you looking lovely tonight. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She blushed. I'm sure that was the reaction he was gunning for with that syrupy nonsense that spilled from his lips.

"Hello, yourself. I didn't know that Mercy was seeing anyone. I don't think I've seen her date at all since she and James were dating years ago." Margie said, moving closer to get a better look at Charlie.

He whispered, "I think she likes me."

I stepped on his foot on purpose to make him settle down. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"You need to pick a type. You can't flirt with a twenty-eight-year-old, then me, then my elderly neighbor. That's just wrong!" I crinkled up my nose at him.

"Who said I was flirting with anyone and since when do you care? Just a minute ago, you wanted nothing to do with me in that way. You were ready to throw me out of here." He reminded me.

I shoved him forward to greet Margie properly. "Go say hello, playboy."

The hug he'd asked for came to fruition, except it was reciprocated by a blushing Margie. She was loving every second of being in Charlie's strong arms.

Why hadn't I noticed how muscular he was before or was he muscular when I met him? Right now, I couldn't remember. Maybe I hadn't been paying attention at the time.

"You sure are a lucky girl, Mercy. You've been holding out on me." She looked at Charlie. "Would you believe that she hasn't said one word about you to me and here I thought we were friends."

"We are friends," I protested. "Charlie is my friend, not my boyfriend. You're welcome to date him, if you like. I'm sure he wouldn't mind having you be a part of his life. Would you, Sheriff?"

Ah, I had him now.
I made him blush.

He smiled at her, winking. "Marry me now, pretty lady."

This was nauseating. I had to get away from him before they roped me into planning their wedding too.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted. I think Barney has had enough exercise for today." I lifted Barney and walked back to my house, leaving Charlie looking like a deer in headlights. Good for him. He needed to feel uncomfortable for a few moments. Maybe it would give him some much needed perspective.

Tina sat on the floor, right in front of the television, listening intently to what the female reporter was saying.

"What happened? More missing lawn ornaments?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, it's an interview with Nathaniel Rich's estranged wife."

My knees buckled. I looked at the screen. The woman was made up from head to toe with boa around her long neck and all. She cried as she spoke to the reporter, but no actual moisture escaped her eyes. Unless she suffered from a tear duct problem, there was no excuse for the lack of tears.

She said, "For ten years, I have loved this man, but for what? So that he could use me and toss me aside for the next woman? I just don't understand. Mark my words, soon everyone will know who he really is and what he is capable of."

The reporter's follow up question was, "What is Mr. Rich capable of, Mrs. Rich?"

She looked directly at the camera, seeming to plead with the people watching and said, "He's capable of murder."

The music was cued for dramatic effect as the reporter read her close. Right there on prime time television, Mrs. Nathaniel Rich accused her husband of murder.

Behind me, Charlie asked, "What in the world was that?"

I couldn't speak. All I could think of was the fact that Cash was just an innocent little boy and had no place else to go. I couldn't stand the fact that he may have been living with a murderer and my motherly instincts kicked in with a vengeance.

I turned to Charlie and said, "Give me your keys."

He looked at me, his eyes narrowing, "Where are we going?"

"To get Cash out of there." I said as I walked out of the house.

Charlie followed closely behind me. "You can't do that. There are procedures that have to be followed and you're not his mother. Let the police and social services handle this, Mercy."

I held out my hands to take the keys.

"No way. You're not driving." Charlie said as he opened the passenger door of his rental car for me.

"I'm going to do this. I have to see if he's okay. I can't just leave him there with Nathaniel. What if he's in danger? What if Nathaniel tries to hurt him?"

Charlie considered for half a second, then, started the car and drove. "If I didn't care about you so much, I'd have nothing to do with this whole situation."

The flashing lights were all I could see when we pulled up to the front gates. I quickly rolled down my window and asked the guard, "What happened?"

His face was grim. "Cash is gone."

My heart jumped into my throat. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" My voice screeched as I asked the question.

Charlie grabbed my wrist to steady my shaking hands. He leaned down on the seat to make eye contact with the guard. "He's missing?"

"Who are you," the guard asked, assessing Charlie's face.

"This is my friend. He's a cop. Now, tell me what happened." I pleaded with him.

The guard took his cap off and rubbed his balding head. "Lucilla took him out for the day and, when they came back, he went to his room to rest. The next thing you know, he's gone. She couldn't find him anywhere."

"You didn't see him leave? Isn't that your job?" I could feel my anger building. He was the security guard and obviously on duty so how could this have happened?

Charlie interrupted. "What's your name, sir?"

The guard mumbled, "Randy. No, I didn't see him leave. He didn't come through here, but then again, things were busy. The new accountant had a moving crew here and Mr. Rich hired new grounds keepers, so they were in and out with their vehicles. When the police showed up, that just added more chaos.

I looked at the patrol vehicles parked in the drive in front of the house. "The police were here before anyone realized that Cash was missing?"

Randy nodded. "Yes, they got here about a half hour or so again. Cash has only been missing for fifteen minutes."

"Only been missing for that long or someone just realized he was missing fifteen minutes ago? There's a big difference." I asked.

"Lucilla just noticed he was gone fifteen minutes ago," he confessed.

"Open the gates." I said as I sat back into the seat to calm myself down before I did something drastic, like strangle Nathaniel and Lucilla.

They were standing outside talking to the police when we pulled into the drive. Zoey noticed us first and nodded at me as I approached, headed straight for Nathaniel.

"How could you have let this happen? Wasn't anyone watching Cash?" I could hardly contain my anger.

He put his hands up in the air defensively. "I didn't let this happen. Like I told the young lady, I haven't seen the boy since yesterday."

"Detective Ortiz, sir. Call me Detective Ortiz." Zoey's eyes were stone cold as she addressed Nathaniel. "Let's step inside and discuss this, please. The officers will search the grounds. He must be around here somewhere."

I took a step back to allow the others to pass. Off to the side, I noticed a trio of gentlemen, holding shovels. What are they burying? I stepped forward to find out, but Charlie grabbed my arm and twisted my body in the direction of the truck parked next to me.

"They must be the new gardeners," Charlie said.

"What are these people thinking? A new accountant, new gardeners, interviews, and now this? We have to find him, Charlie." Tears of frustration welled in my eyes.

"He'll be okay." Charlie squeezed my hand gently. "I'm sure he hasn't gone far."

"But, he's sick, Charlie. He needs his medications."

We followed the others into the manor and stood back as Nathaniel and Lucilla explained what they thought happened. As I expected, neither of them saw or heard anything.
Why would they? It's not like it was their job or anything.

Detective Ortiz' face told a story I wished the others were capable of fully grasping. She didn't like them very much either and she wasn't believing a word that they said.

When they were done talking over each other, Zoey asked, "How is it that you are the only two adults in the house and neither of you heard anything? Was there a television on? If so, explain to me where it is because I didn't notice a television when I did a walk through the other day. Were you speaking loudly - perhaps arguing and you didn't notice?"

Lucilla gasped. "What are you saying? Do you think that we don't care about what happens to Cash? That's just wrong. I love him. I've loved him since the day he was born. No, we weren't arguing. I was in the kitchen, getting ready to prepare a meal. I don't know where Nathaniel... I mean, Sir Rich was at the time."

"Sir? As in, you've been knighted, Mr. Rich?" Zoey's eyebrow quirked up.

Nathaniel cleared his throat. "No, not exactly. Well, young lady, sometimes people just call it like they see it. When you're dealing with someone like me, wouldn't you want to show the utmost respect?”

He had some nerve. I was ashamed to say that he was my employer. I looked at Charlie to gauge his reaction. I could tell right away that he didn't like what he saw or heard. I almost wished that he had jurisdiction to put this smug man in his place. I decided that it was better that I keep quiet, since no one had yet questioned why Charlie was present. I guess with everything going on, either no one noticed or no one had time to think about him.

Zoey's eyes narrowed for a moment, then she looked at each of us and asked us to leave the area while she spoke to Nathaniel. He smiled as if he'd just been invited to a secret rendezvous.

“Mercy, let's go.” Charlie tugged my arm. I didn't realize that I hadn't moved from my spot. I think I was just mesmerized by Nathaniel's gall to speak that way to the detective that was investigating not only a murder that took place in his house, but now also his missing grandson.

I glanced back over at Nathaniel. He stood with a grin on his face, while seemingly oblivious to Zoey's frustration with him and his antics.

Charlie led me out of the way. “There were officers combing the grounds. The security gate was closed. I could see that a police officer was speaking with Randy.

I didn't see the new work crew anywhere and there was no sight of Scooter or Karen.

“What do you think happened here?” Charlie asked.

“I wish I knew. Shouldn't they be more distraught?” I asked him because he was more experienced at this kind of thing than I was.

“I'll tell you this – something isn't right with either one of those two. That maid is too defensive right out the gate. And, as for that grandfather, his narcissism is only rivaled by his ego. Another reason why I'm happier being broke.” Charlie mused.

I would have investigated that remark further at any other time, but now wasn't the right time. I'd never seen where or how Charlie lived. What I knew, I found out via what he said and the few photos that he'd shown me on the couple of occasions that I'd seen him.

“I've met people from all walks of life through work and, I'll tell you, I've never met anyone that behaved that way, especially with law enforcement. I can't believe how condescending he is. I thought he was just being that way with me, but when I spoke with Scooter the other day, he alluded to that being the case with all the women in Nathaniel's life.

“Where is Scooter? Have you seen him?” Charlie looked around the yard.

“He lives in a small cottage in the back. Do you want to take a walk back there?” I asked, desperate to do something other than just stand around wondering what happened to Cash. “Why aren't they doing more? Shouldn't there be a search party or something?”

Charlie put his hand on my shoulder. “I'm sure they are trying to cover all their bases. You never want to go in like gangbusters without ruling out the simpler explanations first. With any luck, Cash is probably just hiding inside the house or out here somewhere.”

“And, if he's not,” I asked.

“They'll find him.” Charlie assured me.

“There it is. I didn't see Karen either. Hopefully, she's with her dad. Maybe, Cash is with them. I hope that's it.” I took off sprinting toward the tiny cottage.

I didn't have to knock on the door. Scooter met me on the small porch. His tear stained face told me that he was just as despondent as I was. “Did they find him? Is he okay?”

I shook my head, disappointment sinking in. “No, not yet, but they will.”

Scooter eyes met Charlie's. “Are you with the police?” He asked.

“No, I'm a friend of Mercy's. I'm here for moral support.” Charlie explained.

“Good. That's good. What do we do now? What if something horrible has happened to him?” Scooter worried.

I peeked inside his house. “Is Karen here with you?”

“No, she hasn't come into work yet today. I called her and told her what happened here. It's probably better if she just stays home. There's no reason for her to work today.” Scooter explained.

“You're probably right,” I mused.

“But, Mr. Rich isn't going to like this – I telephoned Nate and Monica to tell them that Cash was missing.” Scooter informed us.

Just then, we heard the sounds of an argument taking place. Looking at each other, we all made the silent decision to investigate.

When we reached the front side of the manor, a small crowd of people were standing in front of it, police officers were struggling to pull them from each other. In the center, stood Nathaniel with a woman wearing a feathered boa around her neck, clinging to his tie.

“What did you do, Nathaniel,” she screamed.