Swan Song (Julie O'Hara Mystery Series) (23 page)

She was frowning, clearly puzzled.

“I don’t understand, Julie. This was a client of Dianna’s?”

“Not exactly,” said Julie. “You called him ‘Hal’. I believe you said, ‘her pal, Hal’.”

“Oh,
him
. Of course. I did mention him, didn’t I? What about him?”

“Do you know his last name?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Dianna wouldn’t have kept it, either. As I said, he wasn’t a good prospect. He couldn’t qualify for a mortgage.”

“Why was that?
Bad credit? Do you know what kind of work he did?”

“Gee, I’m sorry. I really don’t know much of anything about the guy.” She looked at Julie, her eyes widening in sudden comprehension. “You think he had something to do with Dianna’s death, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I think Hal was a stalker. Intentionally or not, I think he killed her.”

“Oh,
my God
! If only I knew his last name! We could research the mortgage app! Damn it!” she said. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, her head in her hands. “His legal name probably isn’t even ‘Hal…maybe it’s Harold, or something.”

“Yeah.
I thought of that, too,” said Julie. “Look…it’s a starting point, Kate. Can you describe him?”

“Yes! He was blond…a light, natural blond, with a tan.
Like you think of Scandinavian people, with sun-bleached eyebrows and blue eyes. Not exactly good looking, but very outdoorsy and healthy looking. Medium height…no, maybe a little shorter than that. He wasn’t much taller than Dianna…but she was tall, like you.”

“How old was he?”

“Mid-thirties, I’d say. No more than that. He told her he was getting married, I believe. He said that was why he was looking for a house. In fact, that was the reason Dianna dropped him. She said he didn’t qualify on his own and he wouldn’t bring in his girlfriend.”

“She never mentioned what he did for a living?”

“No. Not that I can remember. Do you think there’s any chance of finding him?”

“I don’t know. But, from what you’ve said, I’m even more convinced that he’s our man.”

Kate walked Julie all the way out to her car and hugged her.

“Thank you for what you’re doing. Be careful, Julie.”

“I will. If I get more information about this guy, Hal, or even confirmation that someone else saw him around Dianna, I’m going to turn it all over to Joe Garrett. He’s a damn good detective, Kate. He’ll find the guy.”

Julie pulled out of the parking lot, glancing at her watch. It was late afternoon, almost five o’clock. Realizing that she wasn’t far from the YMCA, she decided to drop by to see if Barry Costello, “trainer to the stars”, was there.

Wouldn’t the ladies of Dr. Phillips be getting out of work and heading to the gym?

* * * * * 

Chapter
55

S
ure enough, when Julie walked into the Y, Barry Costello was sitting behind the desk. A middle-aged, bespectacled woman - who looked more like a librarian - was standing there and welcomed Julie as she approached the desk.

“Hi…can I help you?”

Barry looked up just then.

“I just came in to see Barry.”

“Oh, hi, Ms. O’Hara,” said Barry, getting up and coming around the desk.

“I just wanted to ask a quick question, Barry. Do you have a minute?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s sit over here.”

He led the way to a nearby folding table covered with pamphlets. It was set up under a bulletin board full of information. They pulled out the PVC chairs and sat down.

“Barry, I know you see a lot of people here, but I’m wondering if you might remember a man who may have been in an exercise class with Dianna Wieland or known her, somehow, from here at the Y.”

“Whoever it is, he wouldn’t be from her exercise class, Ms. O’Hara. They’re all women.”

“Oh, okay. Well, maybe you’ve seen him anyway. He’s light blond, maybe Scandinavian, blue eyes, early thirties, not too tall. Sound like anyone you’ve seen working out here, or on any kind of athletic team here?”

Barry thought about it for a minute.

“There’s a guy that plays basketball that’s really blond like that, but I don’t think he’s that old and he’s at least six-feet tall…maybe more. He’s the only one I can think of.”

“Do you know his name?”

“Um…Darren, Daryl…starts with a “D”…
Derek
. It’s Derek.”

Julie sighed. “I don’t think that’s him, but thanks anyway, Barry.”

“Sure, no problem.”

They went back toward the desk, where the librarian-type woman looked at Julie guiltily and said, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I think I’ve seen the man you’re looking for.”

“You have?”

“Yes, I think so. It was quite a while back, towards the end of last year. But a man fitting that description – except he wasn’t really pale like Derek – anyway, he came in asking for Dianna Wieland. He thought she worked here. I told him she was just a volunteer.”

“Did he ask where she worked?”

The woman bit her lip and put her hand to her mouth.

Julie didn’t need an answer.

•

Getting out of her car in the garage under her condo building, Julie felt a familiar dread. It reminded her of the basement stairs in her childhood home in Boston. There was no light switch at the top of the stone staircase in the old house…which meant that you went down, and climbed up again later, in darkness.

I always ran up those stairs in fear of what might be lurking behind me…even though I’d just turned out the light and knew the cellar was empty.

It wasn’t quite dark yet, and all corners of the condo garage were clearly visible. It was as devoid of monsters as her cellar had always been, yet Julie nearly ran to the elevator, her heart slowing only when the doors were fully closed.

There’s a difference. The monster has been here.

The feeling, albeit lessened, resurfaced as she stepped out of the elevator on her floor and quickly entered her code into the new lock on her door.

Julie stepped into the safety of her condo and Sol came loping out of the bedroom to greet her. To her delight, everything was shipshape, the cat having slept away the day. She kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse on the wall table by the door and bent over to hug the big cat.

“So…how was
your
day, Handsome? Slept through it, huh? Want to go out?”

She opened the French doors to the balcony and the cat tore out and around the corner.

Not hungry enough for a meal, Julie sliced an apple and some cheddar cheese, poured herself a glass of chardonnay and joined Sol – who was now sprawled across her outdoor table watching the squirrels – out on the balcony.

Ensconced in her lounge chair with her little repast at her side, Julie considered her next move. She would see Evelyn Hoag tomorrow. She sipped her chardonnay thoughtfully, reflecting on the fear she had felt earlier, accepting the fact that it would likely be with her until she caught him. But catch him, she would.

I was never afraid to go
down
those stairs.

* * * * * 

Chapter
56

E
velyn had already committed herself to help a friend move during the day, so Julie arranged to meet her at Hue, a Thornton Park restaurant, at six that evening. No day had ever gone so
slowly
. It was all she could do to return her calls and proofread her revision of
Clues.
Julie kept looking at her watch, willing the time to go by.

At five o’clock, she left the office and went home to let Sol out on the balcony. She thought about calling Joe to update him, but decided to wait until she had talked with Evelyn.

I need as much evidence as possible to convince him that Dianna had a stalker.

Unable to wait any longer, at five-thirty she got on her scooter and took off for Hue.

Julie was sitting at an outside table when Evelyn arrived at five past six. The shared interest in solving Dianna’s murder had created a bond between them – much as it had with Julie and Kate Winslow - and they hugged awkwardly and took their seats.

Julie had been sitting there for a half-hour and the waiter appeared almost immediately upon Evelyn’s arrival to take their order. After he left, Julie got right to the point.

“Do you remember Dianna ever speaking about a guy who was bugging her?”

“No. I don’t remember her ever saying anything like that. Why?”

“I think she had a stalker who may have killed her.”

“A stalker?”

“Yes,” said Julie. “Two people have described the same man: Early thirties, tanned, a light natural blond with blue eyes, under six-feet tall.”

“Good God. I think I’ve seen him, too!” said Evelyn.

“Where? When?”

“Just before she died,” said Evelyn. “I met her for dinner near her place, at Seasons 52 on Sand Lake Road. We were sitting at the bar, waiting for a lakeside table out back. He waved and sent us drinks. She didn’t say anything about him – we were talking about something, I don’t remember what – she just sort of nodded ‘thanks’. I assumed he was someone she did business with…another realtor or something.

“But then, when we went out to our table he came over. I could see he was taken by her, but that didn’t strike me as odd. I mean...who
wasn’t
? The only reason he stands out in my mind is that he was so
rude
. He pulled up a chair, turned his back to me and launched into a monologue. Dianna couldn’t get a word in. In fact, she apologized for him after he left.”

“Did she insult him?”

“Hell, no. I thought she was unbelievably patient, considering what a bore he was.”

“Can you remember what she said to him?”

“Something about it was ‘nice’, but he ‘shouldn’t have sent the drinks’, she ‘had a boyfriend’. She was obviously trying to get rid of him, but she was polite
about it.”

Dr. Jordan’s words sprang into Julie’s head:

“…his victim may have been nice to him. But when he inevitably becomes intrusive, she puts her foot down. Suddenly, in
his
eyes,
he
becomes the victim.”

“Did Dianna mention his name?”

“Let me think,” said Evelyn. “He started in talking so quickly, I don’t think she had time to introduce him.” She looked down and to her left, her chin resting on her hand. She looked up, triumphant.

“His name was ‘Hal’. She called him
Hal
.”

•

Julie was so excited she couldn’t get to sleep. She dialed Joe’s cell phone.

“Hi, this is Joe Garrett. I’m sorry; I’m not available right now. Leave your name and number and I’ll get right back to you as soon as I can. Talk to you soon.”

“Hi, it’s Julie,” she said, reminding herself to talk quickly before voicemail cut her off. “Don’t get mad, but I’ve done some more investigating. Dianna had a stalker, Joe! I don’t have his last name, but his first name is ‘
Hal
’. He’s blond and blue eyed - Nordic or Scandinavian - under six-feet tall and tan…probably works outdoors. I know you’ll be able to find him! He’s been identified at her office, at the YMCA and he followed her to at least one restaurant. And she pissed him off, Joe! I’ll tell you all about it when you get back…”

Julie hung up, feeling relieved. After a while, she even managed to fall asleep.

* * * * * 

Chapter 57

E
ven though the limit was only six lobsters per person per day in the Keys – as opposed to twelve in the rest of Florida – it was Joe’s favorite place to dive. Nowhere else was the water as clear and the coral ridges - under which the giant crawfish hid - as breathtakingly beautiful.

Joe turned himself upside down in the deep aqua silence of the protected bay to search under a ledge of gently waving coral. A large grouper, undoubtedly after the same quarry, darted away at his intrusion. The bug was in
there, face first, hiding among some sponges. Joe stuck his tickle-stick in behind the sponges and the lobster scrambled backward, right into his hooped net.

He’s a big one!

Joe reminded himself that everything was magnified under the water. Still, there was no need to measure this one, he was certainly big enough to catch. He reached into the net to extract the trapped lobster and transfer him to his catch bag, which already held five others. Although he wore rubberized gloves, Joe was careful to grab the creature from behind. The Florida crawfish had no pincer claws like its Northern relative, but it was covered with sharp horns and spines that had pierced many an unwary diver’s gloves. He dropped the wriggling lobster, tail first, into the bag, and drew the string tight.

That’s it for me.
My second day…my limit.

Joe gave a powerful kick with his fins and headed for the brilliant, sunlit surface.