Deep In Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure Read online

  “Hmm…” Uncle Joey said. “Julia came to do damage control after my little meeting with Jon, so I don’t think they’re on the same page, and I don’t think either of them knows that Alec has feelings for Kate. There might be a chance to use this to my advantage.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “I have a plan, but it looks like I might need your help after all.”

  “Really?” Sudden unease washed over me. Now that he was asking, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to help. Especially since Ramos had wanted me to stay out of it. But how could I turn him down? “Uh…sure. What do you need?”

  He noticed my hesitation and huffed out a breath. “Don’t worry, Shelby. What I have planned won’t be dangerous, and you could bring your husband. In fact, now that he’s my lawyer, it makes perfect sense for him to come.”

  “Chris? Wait. I know about your agreement, but if you’re asking me to help you, Chris might not think that’s part of what he agreed to.” There was silence on the other end of the line, and nervous tension clenched my stomach. Oops.

  “It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Uncle Joey growled. “He’s coming as my lawyer. The fact that you’re coming with him is part of his job.”

  I sighed. Now Uncle Joey had us both over a barrel. He was like the king of conniving dudes. “So what is it you want us to come to?”

  “I’m holding a small dinner party for the Passinis tomorrow night where we’ll be celebrating our up-coming merger. It’s at my house with all of my friends, so there's nothing for you to worry about. You’ll be perfectly safe and hear everything I need to know.”

  “So you’re going through with the merger? You know they’ll try to take over Kate’s side of the business, right?”

  “Yes. But that’s not going to happen. I have it all figured out.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, knowing that if anyone could get the better of a situation, it was Uncle Joey. “So the party’s at your house? That should be nice. What time?” The only time I’d been to his house, I thought I was going to die, but I still remembered how amazing it was. It would definitely be nice to see it again under different circumstances.

  “Seven.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Chris.” I wasn’t sure how happy Chris would be about it, but since we were going together, he couldn’t be too upset. Plus there was food involved. “What’s for dinner?”

  Uncle Joey snorted. “I’m not sure…but something Italian.”

  “Oh good, I love Italian food.” I realized I was excited and it kind of shocked me. “Is it formal, as in suit and tie?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great. That will work, we’ll be there.”

  “Good,” he said. “And just so you know, besides the Passinis, Kate will be there along with a few of my other associates.”

  “Oh yeah…right,” Damn! Kate with my husband in her sights curbed my excitement.

  “Don’t worry, Shelby,” Uncle Joey said. “I’ll make sure Chris doesn’t sit next to her. Besides, if she’s in love with Alec, it won’t matter.”

  “That’s true. But you’re forgetting that I have to listen to her all night long. We didn’t exactly part this afternoon on the best of terms you know.”

  “But she knows you can hear her, so maybe it won’t be so bad.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed, but I didn’t believe it for one minute. Now that she knew I could hear her, it was like a secret weapon. She could think whatever she wanted and have the pleasure of insulting me without anyone else knowing. I’d just have to tune her out if I could.

  “Good. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.” He disconnected and I sighed. Dinner didn’t sound too bad, even if Kate would be there. So that left telling Chris. I had a feeling that was going to be the hard part.

  The rest of the day went normally enough. I got a phone call from Billie asking me if I could meet her at the Attorney General’s office for an interview she had with him the next day. Since it was an hour after my appointment with Marketing Solutions, I told her I could, and we disconnected.

  I had dinner all ready, but as usual, Chris was late getting home from work. Since Josh and Savannah had other things going on, we couldn’t wait, so we ate without him. By the time Chris got home, they had both left, so while he changed his clothes, I microwaved a plate of food for him to eat.

  While he ate, I told him about my day, starting with my visit to Darcy’s employer, followed with my visit to her husband, and finally, what I’d learned from Detective Parker. By the time I got done, he’d finished his food.

  “Wow. So you think it might be a serial killer?” Chris wasn’t too happy about that. If I figured out who it was, it could be dangerous.

  “I don’t know. I guess it’s a possibility. I’ve got an appointment with Marketing Solutions tomorrow, so I’ll see if anything stands out.”

  “You’ve had a busy day. Weren’t you supposed to go to lunch with Kate too?”

  “Yes.” I nodded and proceeded to tell him all about it. I started with getting there late, and ended with her wanting to bribe me with another five hundred dollars not to tell Uncle Joey. “I told her I’d ignore that since being in love made some people stupid. She didn’t like that much, so I don’t think we left on the best of terms, and now that we’ve been invited to dinner at Uncle Joey’s house, I’m not so sure it was very smart of me.”

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  Poor Chris. His life would be so much easier if he wasn’t married to me. “Oh…well…I went to Uncle Joey’s office after lunch to tell him about Kate and ran into Julia Passini. She’s Jon and Alec’s mom?” Chris got that glazed look in his eyes that spelled trouble, and I hurried to explain what I’d overheard her thinking, and how the Passinis were planning a merger with Uncle Joey’s shipping company which Kate ran, and how because of that, Uncle Joey planned to invite us to dinner. “He wants both of us to come. That’s good, right?”

  “Um…” Chris narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute. Our agreement is that if I help him with his cases, he leaves you out of it. It seems to me that asking you to eavesdrop on the Passinis isn’t part of that agreement.”

  “Well…he’s kind of gotten around that part. See, it’s actually that I’m coming with you since you’re his lawyer, not the other way around. And since I’m going to be there, Uncle Joey just needs me to listen to the Passinis so he can make plans that don’t include him getting killed. He promised it wouldn’t be dangerous.”

  Chris was thinking that Manetto getting killed wasn’t so bad and maybe we shouldn’t go.

  “Chris…that’s not helping.”

  “All right, all right. But it really bugs me that he’s got both of us in his clutches, and I feel like a chump that I fell for it, and worse, that he pulled one over on me. How did this happen?”

  “Kind of puts a new light on what I’ve been going through these last few months, huh?”

  He twisted his lips. “Yeah, I guess. So what time is this big dinner?”

  I told him the time and place, adding that dinner was going to taste great to help him feel better.

  “Hmm…” He glanced at me with narrowed eyes. “So…you know what’s for dinner?”

  “Yes…something Italian.”

  He chuckled. “Of course! I should have known.”

  “Oh…I didn’t think of it that way.” I laughed, then shook my head to think I’d told Uncle Joey how much I loved Italian food. I mentioned this to Chris and he could hardly believe it.

  “I’ll bet he loved that.”

  “Maybe,” I said, shrugging. “We were talking on the phone, so I don’t know for sure.”

  Chris snorted. “I didn’t mean that literally.”

  “Ha, ha. I knew that. I’m just messing around with you.” I playfully hit him in the arm so he’d believe me.

  “Uh-huh. So…is there anything else besides food that I’ll get for going? You know…for compensation?”

  “Sure,” I said, playing his game. �
�You get to come with me. That’s a plus, right?”

  He smiled. “Yeah. You’re right. So maybe it’s not so bad that I’m Manetto’s lawyer. At least in this situation.” He was thinking how good it would feel to be there where he could keep an eye on me, and not have to hear how it went from me later. Yes, this was good. I wouldn’t be able to leave anything out, or lie to him, because he’d be there.

  “I don’t lie to you,” I said, although I couldn’t say the same about leaving stuff out. “And mostly what I leave out isn’t important.”

  “Right,” he said. “Thank goodness for that.”

  I didn’t like the direction this was going, so I changed the subject. “So,” I said, kissing his cheek. “You want to get started on that compensation now or later?”

  “Depends,” he answered. “How long will the kids be gone?”

  ***

  The sun rose the next morning with the promise of another beautiful autumn day. After getting the kids off to school and a quick shower, I settled in to look over all the files, hoping to find a bigger connection than the one I had.

  A couple of hours’ work later left me empty-handed and frustrated. Maybe they weren’t connected at all, and the fact that they each disappeared in October a year apart was just a coincidence. I sure couldn’t find anything that stood out. At least I had that appointment with Marketing Solutions, or I’d feel like a complete failure.

  I drove to The Corporate Office Plaza and pulled into the parking structure, this time making sure I wasn’t parked anywhere near number four. It meant I had to walk further, but that didn’t bother me. Stepping inside the lobby, I glanced at the directory and followed the signs to Marketing Solutions, LLC.

  A wide double-door with the name in bold letters above stood before me, and I couldn’t help the shiver of dread that ran down my spine. Darcy’s killer could be inside. I might come face to face with him. How was I going to handle that without giving myself away? On the other hand, maybe I was just being optimistic and this lead wasn’t going anywhere. Thinking of it that way settled my nerves, and I knew that no matter what, I wanted to find Darcy’s killer. That mattered more than any unpleasantness I might face.

  I stepped inside and smiled with confidence, giving the receptionist my name and appointment time. She ushered me into the company president’s office where he shook my hand and offered me a plush leather chair in which to sit.

  “Hi Ms. Nichols, I’m Craig Hanley.” He was thinking I looked like someone he could work with and hoped he could make the sale. His perfectly white teeth could have glowed in the dark when compared to his handsome tanned face. He gave me his spiel about what his company could do for me and how his program could easily double my revenue. “How many people do you employ in your consulting business?” he asked.

  “Um…just me,” I replied, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “But I can always hire more once my business takes off. I could probably use a new website too.”

  “Great. You’re just the kind of person I think we can help.” He explained his marketing process and, I had to admit, I was seeing all kinds of dollar signs behind my name…I mean…brand. It was amazing how quickly my business could grow in just a few months. I was ready to sign up right then, until he named his starting price. At least I kept my jaw from dropping to the floor. Still, he must have caught something from me because he got quiet and pursed his lips. He was thinking he hoped he hadn’t just wasted his time. What did I expect? His rates were reasonable, even if they seemed high, and you got what you paid for.

  “That sounds good,” I said, surprising him. “But before I commit to anything, can I meet your staff and the marketing manager who’d be helping me?”

  “Of course,” he replied.

  He led me to a small space of cubicles where several people were busy at their computers. Besides the receptionist and the woman who was head of sales, the rest of the employees were men. He took me around to each desk and explained who everyone was in relation to the accounts they managed. “We work as a team, and a lot of times we help each other with our accounts, so at this point, I can’t tell you who would be handling your account specifically.

  I managed to meet every person there, but didn’t get a read on anything that would lead me to a serial killer. None of these people seemed inclined to do anything like that. So what was the connection? Why had Darcy wanted me to come here? It didn’t make any sense unless there was something I needed to pick up, but what?

  My time came to a close and I had to tell the president that I wasn’t ready to sign up yet. Maybe I shouldn’t have come under the pretense of wanting to hire his company since I couldn’t ask any questions about Darcy and her disappearance. Now I couldn’t do that without giving my real motive away.

  As a last-ditch effort I asked, “Is this everyone in your company?”

  Craig thought that was a weird question, but maybe I was one of those people who liked to be thorough. He might as well tell me the truth. “Actually…no, my brother Sean isn’t here, and we have people who work remotely as well. But let me assure you, we have clients not only in the United States, but all over the world.”

  “What does your brother do?”

  “He’s involved with developing and upgrading our platform and the systems we use.”

  “Oh, so…he’s your computer guy?”

  “Yeah, mostly.” Craig was thinking his brother was a royal pain in the butt, mostly because he was too smart for his own good. But it was Sean’s program they used, so Craig had to pay him the big bucks and pretty much let him do his own thing, which irritated the hell out of him.

  “I’d like to meet Sean before I make my decision. Is that possible? Does he come in to the office?”

  Craig couldn’t understand why meeting Sean was important, but if it got my business he was willing to see what he could do. “Yes, he comes in at least twice a week, sometimes more.” He was lying about that. Unless there was a problem, they were lucky to see him once a week. “Let me have our receptionist set up the appointment for you.”

  “Great.” I followed him back to the receptionist’s desk and waited while she got Sean on the phone. He answered, and from what I could hear from her thoughts, Sean was not happy to come into the office to meet a potential client. Wasn’t that what his brother was supposed to take care of? He finally gave in, but said it had to be Monday because he was going to be unavailable for the next two weeks.

  “Would Monday work for you?” she asked. “I’m afraid that’s the only free day he’s got until November.”

  “Uh…sure…what time?”

  She put the phone back to her ear and told me ten a.m. At my nod, she told Sean I had agreed and quickly disconnected. “Here’s a card with the appointment time on the back in case you need it.”

  “Thanks.” I turned to Craig who’d been waiting politely during the exchange. “I guess I’ll see you Monday then.”

  “Good.” He smiled and nodded, thinking he’d better make sure Sean’s office was dusted and tidy. He couldn’t remember the last time Sean had been there. Maybe he could get the receptionist to do it this afternoon.

  I walked back to my car, hoping that meeting with Sean wasn’t going to be a waste of time. But he sounded like a smart recluse with lots of money. That could mean something. Plus, he’d said he was unavailable for the next two weeks. Did that mean he was busy planning an abduction and murder?

  A chill went down my spine. Maybe by Monday, I’d know what had happened to Darcy. But then what would I do? Without evidence I couldn’t do much. I’d probably have to spend time watching and following him. If I could find the bodies that would do the trick, but just thinking about how I’d do that gave me the creeps.

  I checked the time, realizing I only had fifteen minutes to get downtown to the Attorney General’s office. I hoped Billie wouldn’t be too mad if I was a little late. I had to circle the block twice before I found a parking space, and I ran a half-block to the building
, out of breath and a little sweaty. I spotted Billie, relieved to find she was still seated in the waiting area.

  “Hi, sorry I’m late,” I said.

  “It’s okay. It might be a few more minutes before we get in.” She was thinking that her ploy hadn’t worked, and she felt a little guilty for asking me to come when she didn’t exactly have an appointment.

  I stared at her, more than a little put-out. “You don’t have an appointment do you?”

  Her head snapped toward me, a guilty flush creeping up her neck. “Uh…well…not with Grayson Sharp…but I thought maybe we could talk to someone in his office.”

  “Like who?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know…probably his secretary…I mean…his executive assistant. I figured with you here, it didn’t matter because you’d pick up on something.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out, trying not to get too upset with her. A woman came down the hallway and glanced our way. Billie jumped up and smiled. “Hi Addie, I’m Billie Jo Payne. Thank you so much for seeing me. I know how busy you are, but I only have a few questions.”

  Addie just stared at her before answering. “I have five minutes to answer your questions. That’s the best I can do. Next time, you have to go through our public relations department.”

  “I will, I promise. Thanks for your time,” Billie said. She glanced around the room. “Can we come to your office where it’s private?”

  Addie pursed her lips, but gave in and motioned us to follow her down the same hall from which she’d come. At the end, she opened an office door with “Office of the Attorney General, Grayson Sharp” emblazoned on it and ushered us inside.

  She took her place behind the desk, and we sat opposite her on a couch clearly meant for those with appointments to see the attorney general. She gestured toward his door. “He’s out for the rest of the day, and your five minutes are almost up. What can I do for you?”