Текст книги "She's Not There"
Автор книги: Marla Madison
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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 23 страниц)
45
The temperature hovered in the low seventies in Hialeah, overcast but warm. Hardly a breeze ruffled the palm trees decorating the racetrack.
Unless the track had a big race scheduled, Mondays brought a small crowd. Despite the low attendance, no one was looking for Eddie Wysecki. At least half of the photos handed out to the security guards rested in the bottom of freshly lined trash bins. Except for Fitz Herrera’s. He’d memorized the photo, pulling it out from time to time to compare it with a face in the crowd.
Herrera’s job mattered to him. His goal was to become a police officer, but openings were hard to come by. The gig at the track had taken him years to get and could lead to a coveted position with HPD. He’d figured with security experience, he’d have a shot.
As he moved through the stands, he thought about Wysecki and wondered if he’d really killed all those women. Fitz loved women. He couldn’t imagine anyone hurting one of them, but in Miami it happened all the time. Sometimes even here in Hialeah.
He tried to think where someone like Eddie Wysecki would hang out if he were here. Probably in the grandstand where it was most crowded. The mutt would most likely stay outside and only go in to place a wager. For sure he’d use one of the new automated machines so he wouldn’t have to face a teller. Fitz’s eyes scanned the crowd. On his third pass through the grandstand, he noticed a man sitting on a bench about three up from the space in front of the fence outlining the racetrack. He wore large mirrored sunglasses, a goofy-looking hat like a guy might wear to go fishing, and a jacket with the collar turned up even though the temperature had hit eighty degrees. He held a racing program in his lap, and a copy of every tip sheet sold by the vendors—a serious player. Fitz decided to keep an eye on him from a distance.
Eddie hated the automatic wager machines. Working the damn machines while wearing the fucking reflector glasses was a pain in the ass, although hiding his face would be worth it until he could make the right connections for his escape to Mexico. He sure liked the easy life: gambling, hanging at the track, frequenting the dozens of titty-bars in the area, the endless, balmy weather. But his money wouldn’t last long here; he had to get to Mexico where he’d be considered a wealthy guy.
He was on a winning streak and finding it tough to stay low-key. Without sitting with a track buddy, the wins weren’t quite as savory. Throwing a fist in the air and pantomiming “Yes!” had to suffice.
He’d overheard what he considered a hot tip in the eighth race. He planned to scoot out after its finish. When the bell for the eighth race went off, Eddie hung on the rail. He’d bet some serious change. It turned out to be an exciting race, the horses bunched up coming around the final turn, with the favorite beginning to lose ground. Eddie was ecstatic as his horse, at 15-1, approached the frontrunner. Forgetting his cool, he shouted, “Come on six, come on six!”
When the three lead horses thundered over the finish line, they were synchronized like a Swiss watch and Eddie’s number six was one of them. Even with a photo, the decision would be a tough call. Eddie went to a bench, sat for a minute, then came back and paced in front of the rail. When the photo finish of the race went up on the giant monitor the crowd went wild. Number six, Perry’s Pride, had won the race with only one, well-bred nostril nipping ahead of the other two horses.
Eddie went wild. He pulled off his hat and performed a frantic dance, looking like some kind of mystic tribal chief without the feathers. Halfway through his wild performance, the silver shades flew off his face.
His mania ended abruptly when two iron fists grabbed his arms, snapping on a pair of cuffs.
The press quoted Fitz as saying he acted on automatic pilot when he recognized Eddie Wysecki. In real time, however, as Fitz grabbed the guy, all that went through his mind was, “This is my shot!”
46
TJ opened her phone.
Maggie said, “TJ, I wanted to talk to you about this first because I know you understand how the system works. We just got word they’ve picked up Wysecki in Florida, but it’ll take a while to get him transferred here, maybe a few days. And he’s not talking. He asked for an attorney right away.”
“Fast work.”
“We haven’t turned up anything in his financials or from interviews to give us any indication he had another place where he could be stashing bodies.”
“Never thought it was him doing the missing women.”
“Well, he may have disposed of the bodies someplace we haven’t discovered yet. You can tell the others he’s in custody, but it’s not for publication.
“I know you don’t think he did the Ventura woman, but you know the blame is going to swing his way. You folks will be under the microscope if they start trying to find a connection between Eddie and Danielle.”
“Yeah, I figured that.”
TJ closed the phone. After she shared the news with the group, she would need to forget about all this shit and have some fun. Jeff’s suggestion that they go out for a while after dinner would be a welcome relief from murder and mayhem. She pulled on a pair of jeans, a bright orange sweater, and boots with spiked heels. A good time was in order.
Jeff drove them to the Sombrero Club, a bar and restaurant on Pewaukee Lake, not far from Lisa’s office.
“They have great margaritas,” he promised.
“You ever been to this place?”
“No, but I’ve heard about it.”
“Figured.”
They sipped margaritas, sitting at the bar listening to the band play music from the sixties and seventies. Jeff surprised her when he asked her to dance. While he wasn’t what she would call a good dancer, he managed himself well on the dance floor, a feat few men could pull off. As she moved her body with the beat of the music, TJ realized she’d really needed to unwind.
When the final notes died out, the music continued with one of her favorites, “You Are So Beautiful to Me.” Jeff put his arms around her waist, and they began to dance to the slow, molten sounds of the love song. They weren’t exactly pressed together, but she put her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, while reminding herself they weren’t on a date. But he felt good.
When the song ended, the band took a break.
Back at the bar, TJ picked up her drink. “You were right—they make a great margarita.”
Jeff frowned. “TJ, I think you put yourself at risk too often.”
TJ had forgotten they were out to celebrate her discovery of Tina’s mother, but hadn’t expected a lecture on her methods. “That’s how I live my life. Used to be a cop, you know. That’s when I really lived on the edge.”
Wisely, Jeff let the subject drop. When the band resumed, a tall, well-dressed black man approached them and asked TJ to dance. She looked at Jeff.
“Go ahead.” He watched her leave, thinking he’d never known anyone remotely like TJ. But he and TJ were just friends, weren’t they? A twinge of disloyalty struck him as he realized it had only been two months since his wife disappeared.
He watched them dance; they looked awesome together. It didn’t take long before the rest of the dancers circled TJ and her partner, watching their performance. Maybe this guy was someone TJ should get to know. Jeff hadn’t liked what he’d heard about Richard, her detective boyfriend.
When the song ended, TJ’s partner grabbed her to dance with him to the next song. Jeff downed his drink, trying not to watch her every move. Overcome with guilt, he ordered another drink.
After TJ finished the second wild dance with the other guy, the lights went down, signaling a slow dance. The song began.
“No one told me about her, the way she lied.”
Jeff nearly dropped his drink. He should have been prepared—they were playing old songs. Before he could react, TJ appeared at his side, asking him to dance. He knew she was probably just worried about him because of the damn song, but he wanted to feel her in his arms again. To hell with the damn song. On the dance floor, when she rested her head on his shoulder and he felt her warm breath on his neck, he knew—she felt the attraction too. The song ended all too quickly—it had lost its hold on him.
When they returned to their seats at the bar, Jeff felt like he needed to say something, but what?
“So,” he asked, “are you having a good time?” Lame. He should have kept his mouth shut.
She smiled at him. As she started to speak, a woman approached them. “Jeff? Jeff Denison?”
“Yes,” he said, not recognizing the woman. About his age, she was short with long, reddish hair.
“I thought it was you. I’m Susan Jaster. You probably don’t remember me, but I met you last year at our Christmas party.” Jeff looked at her blankly.
“You know, Lifetime Insurance, the place where Jamie worked.” Jeff still didn’t remember her, although his memory of the party was not a fond one. He’d never felt like he fit in with Jamie’s friends. “Sure, I remember that party.”
“You know, when I saw you I remembered something from that night.” She moved closer to him. Her breasts, loose under a thin, satiny top, grazed his arm.
“Something about the Christmas party?”
“About the night Jamie went missing.”
She had his attention. Jeff could feel TJ leaning forward, waiting to hear what Susan had to say. He asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, it was kinda weird. We were all drinking a lot and dancing, and I wasn’t even sure it was her.”
They listened raptly for more. Jeff asked, “Are you saying you saw Jamie that night?”
“Yeah. I think I did. We were sitting at that booth over there.” She pointed to a booth across the room. “It was real crowded that night. I thought I saw her standing at the bar. “
“Here?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s it? You think you saw her?” Jeff wished she’d get to the point if she had one. He didn’t think it likely Jamie had been at the Sombrero Club the night she disappeared.
“I’m pretty sure I saw her. But it was more than that. I met this guy, you know? We decided to go somewhere else for a while. When we left I thought I saw her car in the parking lot. It like—stood out, you know?”
Jeff did know. When Jamie bought the expensive little sports car, he’d said nothing even though he’d disapproved of the purchase.
“Are you sure about any of this?”
“Well . . . pretty much.”
“Did anyone else see her?”
“No, just me.”
Jeff wanted to shake her. “Did you tell this to the police?”
“I wasn’t there the day the cops came around at work. No one believed I saw her that night—we always asked her to come with us and she never did. I had a lot to drink so I figured the cops wouldn’t believe me either.”
It made sense; she didn’t come across as very credible. She’d been looking questioningly at TJ. Jeff finally introduced her as a friend.
TJ helped wrap things up. “We need to get going. Gotta be at work early tomorrow.”
Jeff rose from his seat, tossing bills on the bar.
“Well, I just thought I’d tell you,” Susan hissed, obviously irritated Jeff hadn’t been more interested in what she had to tell him. She stalked back to her table, her short suede skirt barely covering her narrow hips.
When the door closed behind them, TJ stopped, her eyes gleaming. “We got a lead!”
47
The guest list for Thanksgiving dinner had grown exponentially. Who’d have thought so many people had nowhere to go? Lisa kept busy planning the meal, and Eric hired a second security guard for the weekend. Her schedule minimal due to the holiday, she immersed herself in culinary concerns.
Lisa was alone in the kitchen when TJ came in on Tuesday night.
TJ hadn’t looked her in the eye. She had her back to Lisa as she hung up her coat.
Lisa asked, “Hi, what’s up?”
“Wish I knew.”
“Anything you’d like to talk about?”
TJ sat down at one of the kitchen stools. “Got any coffee?”
“No, how about tea?” TJ made a face but accepted a cup of the green tea Lisa was fond of and stared into it without sipping.
Lisa poured herself a cup and sat next to her. “Did you have a good time last night?”
“Something real interesting happened last night.” TJ told Lisa about the conversation with Susan Jaster. “We’re gonna need to go back there with a picture of Jamie and see if anyone else saw her. Could be a great lead.”
“It could, I suppose. But why the mood? Isn’t that good news?”
TJ sighed heavily. “Might be time for me to come see you for therapy.”
Lisa laughed. “Okay, what’s going on? It has to be serious if you’re thinking about therapy.”
“It’s Jeff.”
“Jeff? What about him?”
“You know.”
“Are we going to play twenty-questions?”
TJ stood, carrying the tea she still wasn’t drinking, and walked over to the window. With her back to Lisa, she said, “I’m startin’ to get feelings for the guy. Well, lust anyway.”
Lisa held back what would have been her first response. “How do you feel about that?”
“I could give you a buncha reasons why it’s bad. Let’s see, he still misses his wife, we’re even more opposite than they were, I ain’t good at relationships, and he’s too goddamn white!”
“White? Conlin’s white. Since when does that matter to you?”
“Not that kind of white. I mean vanilla-white. The guy goes to church every week. He’s an engineer. He likes old movies. And what would he want with someone like me?”
Lisa walked over to TJ and turned her around. “TJ, we can’t help who we’re drawn to. You and Jeff have spent a lot of time with each other and gone through a lot together. Being drawn to one another is understandable. But Jeff is very vulnerable right now. Your friendship has been good for him, but I’d hate to see you get hurt. He still has a lot to work through before he can get involved with someone again. And what’s this ‘someone like me’ comment? I’ve never known you to have an ego problem.”
“I know. An’ don’t even know what I want anyway. Guess I‘m just confused.”
Lisa said softly, “Maybe Jeff has some qualities you wish Richard had.”
TJ didn’t comment.
“Do you want advice?”
“Sure. You’ll lay it on me anyway.”
Lisa smiled. “Don’t let it go any further for now. He isn’t ready. But he needs your friendship. Talk to him about it. There’s no reason you can’t go on being friends. If there is a chance of something more developing between you, remember it has to happen slowly. For both of you, not just Jeff.”
TJ wrinkled her nose. “Don’t usually put things off; if I want it, I go for it, you know? Don’t like waiting. But, you’re right. We need to talk. Course if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’m gonna feel like an idiot.”
“Do you think he feels the same way about you?”
TJ stood up and emptied her cup in the sink. She grinned. “Yeah.”
Teresa used leftover beef roast to make beef sandwiches and a pot of soup for dinner. After Eric invited them to stay she’d insisted on cooking for them until she decided what to do. She had a brother in Florida and was contemplating moving there.
Lisa, Jeff, TJ, and Eric gathered in Eric’s office later to go over the information they’d gathered so far and placed on the whiteboards.
Each of the fifteen women on their short list had her own column with her photo posted at the top. So far the only things the women had in common were their attractiveness and the 911 calls.
TJ had added, “Possibly seen at the Sombrero Club the night she disappeared” in Jamie’s column. Everyone shared her excitement about the lead, and they discussed how they would proceed with the interviews at the club.
Jeff wanted them to act on it immediately. “Why are we waiting to go over there?”
TJ cut him off. “Called there today, and found out this week lots of the regular help is off because of hunting season and the holiday. Makes no sense to go now. The manager is checking their records so he can let us know just who was working that night.”
Jeff wasn’t giving up easy. “Well, what about Tina’s father? What are we doing about him?”
Lisa pacified him with, “Got Shannon working on that. What we know from Teresa is he stays with friends, so it’s hard to locate him. I did call Maggie today and let her know what’s going on. She told me Teresa has to go to the MPD and get him picked up for taking Tina.”
TJ looked at Jeff. “Think we should talk to any other women from Jamie’s office?”
“It didn’t sound like anyone else saw Jamie. And the Jaster woman seemed kind of flaky. There is one woman I know who Jamie worked with and went to the gym with. I’ll call her and see if she was at the club that night.”
Most of the women on their list were computer literate, and one of the avenues they were working on was to find out if any of them made a habit of meeting men online. Some of them frequented the clubs, some worked out, and some cheated on their husbands. They weren’t finding any commonalities, but had a lot of people to talk to in each woman’s circle of friends.
Jeff left the room and called Amy Hayes, Jamie’s friend from the office. When she answered, he explained how he’d run into Susan Jaster and what Susan had told him about seeing Lisa the night she’d disappeared.
“Sorry, Jeff, I wasn’t there. I usually go with them on Fridays, but I had a date. The day the police were at the office they talked to everyone. When we compared notes later, the girls who were there said they hadn’t seen Jamie and weren’t at all sure about Susan’s powers of observation. They said she’d been drinking a lot. That’s why no one brought it up to the police.”
Maybe the great lead was going to be a total bust after all. Jeff exchanged a little small talk with Amy and answered a few of her questions about Jamie.
Just as they were about to hang up, she said, “Wait. I just remembered something. You know Jamie and I used to do an aerobics class together, but I quit going for a while. She mentioned meeting a new guy at the Y—not that she was interested in him—she just said he was new and really nice, but I don’t think she’d talked to him much, you know? She said he was real good looking, too. At the time I thought she might have made him up to get me to come back.”
When Jeff came back and gave them the news, TJ volunteered to go to the gym to see if she could find someone in Jamie’s aerobic class who might remember the guy and point him out.
Lisa said, “You know, folks, I think we have to make a list of just what kind of things we’re going to research from these women’s lives.” She pulled out an easel with large sheets of post-it paper and began recording.
When they ran out of ideas, they spent some time fine-tuning the list, weeding out any that were unnecessary or repetitive.
TJ complained. “Shit! Gonna have to start from square one with this list!”
Lisa said, “It might seem like a lot, but with this list we’ll have a better handle on what to ask their friends. You just never know what may be a link between them.”
Finding a link, if one even existed, looked like an insurmountable task. The group was discouraged.
Lisa was certain she’d never again have a good night’s sleep. She got out of bed and went downstairs for some of her Forty-winks Tea.
She found Eric sitting at the island eating a sandwich, the day’s paper spread out around him.
“Did you go back to work?”
“Yes. Three new cars came in today, and we’re having some problems with the website. Bad night for sleeping?”
Lisa laughed, looking down at her robe and slippers. “How could you tell? And I think I’ve lost a dog—Phanny hasn’t left Tina’s side since she arrived.”
Lisa put on a kettle for her tea and sat down next to Eric.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t sleep.”
Lisa thought he looked tired. “It’s been difficult with everything that’s been happening.”
“How are things going with Teresa and Tina? Are they comfortable staying here for the time being?”
“Of course. Teresa was thrilled with your offer to stay.”
“Tina’s going to be okay, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she’s doing better by the hour now that she has her mother.”
“Thanks to TJ. Did she ever tell you how she managed that?”
“Yes. She said don’t ask and she won’t tell.”
“That’s what I thought.”
They sat for a few minutes without talking. Then Eric turned to her and said, “I’ve always wanted to ask you something. Haven’t you ever been at all uncertain about Jeff and me?”
“You mean about the possibility one of you killed your wife? After I had a couple sessions with Jeff there was no doubt in my mind he had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance. And I respected TJ’s opinion of you.” She’d already admitted to herself his being a pain in the butt didn’t make him a murderer. Lisa hadn’t told anyone she had moments of distrust for the man, despite their getting along better.
“I wish the rest of the world agreed with TJ’s opinion.”
“Is that why you’re no longer practicing medicine?”
“More or less. When I got out of jail I found out my name was anathema in the medical community. They revoked my privileges at the hospital, but I still have my license to practice.”
“There must have been somewhere you could have worked.”
“Sure, if I wanted to live in a desert or a jungle and travel by camel. But seriously, I enjoy what I do. When I was still practicing I made some very wise investments which allowed me to live this way. I’ve been fortunate.”
Lisa pushed herself away from the counter. “I’m finally feeling sleepy.”
Before she could get up, he covered her hand with his, gave it an affectionate squeeze, and said, “It was nice talking with you.”
As she went up the stairs, the hand he’d touched felt warm, and Lisa had to shift her thoughts to something else before she started to reflect on her sudden attraction to Eric Schindler.
