Murder and Matrimony Page 5

  Once the officers and Les had left, Margot walked past the officer stationed in front of her house, giving him an appreciative nod, and then slid into the front seat of Tamera’s car, a blanket slung over her arm.

  “What’s that for?”

  “Hair.”

  Tamera looked confused.

  “Clint is a hairy beast and I’ll not have him shedding all over your nice, clean car.”

  Tamera laughed and shook her head. “I don’t care about that! He’ll be fine. I also have a vacuum and it’s about time for George to clean the cars anyway.” She flashed a devilish grin then sobered. “Are you all right, Margot?”

  “Yes, but my place is not. I’ll have to do some major cleaning, but I’m just glad I wasn’t there when any of this happened.”

  “Oh, I can’t even imagine.”

  “Honestly, I think I wasn’t there because I wasn’t supposed to be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There was a car tailing me.” She thought back to the incident and, in retrospect, how obvious the car had been. “Now that I think of it, I have a feeling I was supposed to notice it following me.”

  “It was a distraction.”

  “I think so,” she sighed, “but there’s no way to prove that.”

  “Did they take anything?”

  “No. I think it was more to startle me than anything else.”

  “Well, it’s startling me. Are you really going to stay there tonight? You can come over and stay with George and I. We’ve got the guest bedroom all set up. You can even bring Clint.”

  “I couldn’t do that. Besides, you know George would have a fit if I brought Clint.”

  Tamera laughed. “You’re right about that, but he could learn to deal with the hair and dog smell. Trust me. We’d do anything for you.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, squeezing her friend’s hand and thinking back to the time that she’d cleared George of a murder charge. She was so glad to see her friend so happy and in love. “Let’s get the pooch. I’ll be fine with him staying with me.”

  “If you say so.”

  Once they picked up Clint, they headed back to Margot’s house. Tamera pulled up out front and Margot waved to the officer. She recognized him from another time that she’d had surveillance on her house.

  “Are you absolutely sure you’re going to be all right?” Tamera asked, squeezing Margot’s hand.

  Clint leaned over to the front seat and sniffed at Margot’s hair. She laughed and gently pushed him away.

  “Are you kidding? This fierce animal will protect me.”

  Tamera laughed, sending Clint a doubtful look. “If you insist. But please, call me any time if you need me to come over or you change your mind.”

  “I will. Thank you again. I…I didn’t want to go alone.”

  “Of course not. Any time, dear friend.”

  Margot clipped the dog’s leash on and let him jump out of the car. He immediately sniffed around the car and began pulling her toward the door.

  “Margot,” Tamera called out, “are you sure you’re okay?”

  Margot paused, pulling the dog back. He immediately sat down and waited for her. She considered her friend’s question. Was she all right? With her fiancé arrested for a crime she was sure he didn’t commit and now finding herself brought into the midst of something with her home being invaded, she had to admit she wasn’t all right.

  “No,” she admitted, “but I will be when all of this is over.”

  Tamera looked as if she were going to argue, but instead, she pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’m here for you. You know that.”

  “I do,” Margot said. “Have a good night.”

  Tamera waited as Margot started for her door, Clint leading the way. What she’d told her friend was true, but she also needed to know that Adam would be all right too. It wasn’t something she could guarantee, but it was something she’d give everything to. To clearing his name once and for all.

  It took a long time, but after cleaning up most of the living room area and her bedroom, she went to bed, Clint laying at her feet. Despite the assurance of the officer on duty out front, her locked doors, and the protective pooch at her feet, she still struggled to get to sleep.

  Her mind kept replaying the events of the evening. Of being followed and then walking into her torn-up house. Everything calculated to make her afraid. When she finally drifted off to sleep, she slept soundly and didn’t awaken until midmorning, thankful for the extra rest.

  Clint bounded off the bed and Margot let him out before starting to clean up the kitchen. Thankfully, it had the least amount of damage and she’d only have to replace a few bowls. Once she had a cup of coffee in hand, she sat down at her computer and began to look through emails. She noticed one from Dexter close to the top of her inbox and immediately clicked on it.

  He began by saying he’d heard about what happened from Peter who’d heard from Les. He wanted her to know that they were all ready to close the shop and come to help her clean up if she needed it. Before she did anything else, she shot a text to Dexter and Julia in their group message and let them know she was doing fine and that she’d just need a day to herself to get things straightened up.

  Then she turned back to the email. He had included a few attachments of information Peter had agreed that he could share with her. It wouldn’t be anything confidential, or at least anything she couldn’t see, but he said he hoped it might help her.

  The first attachment was a folder of images of Sid meeting with different people. The second attachment was a type of ‘key’ that labeled who each person was based on Dexter’s facial recognition software.

  To Margot’s astonishment, most were members of the police force in Washington, D.C. Dexter had included a note explaining that a lot of them had already been arrested during a sting operation several years back. Margot instantly thought of what Anthony had told her. These were the officers that Adam had put away, meaning these photos had to be older.

  She clicked open the next file and noticed that it labeled Sid Lawrence as a CI, or criminal informant, to Detective Karlsson. Margot’s eyebrows shot up. She assumed that, since Lawrence was dead, this information wasn’t classified anymore, but that didn’t mean it was less important. If anything, it was crucial. It meant that Sid had connections to Karlsson and his death would be almost personal to the detective.

  Margot wondered if it would cloud the detective’s judgment of the case. A criminal informant was still that—a criminal—but it often meant they were reformed in a sense. She knew from her late husband Julian that CIs were very important to detectives and they could form a type of friendship. Though she also knew that one had to be careful with how close they got to a CI. Either way, it was odd that Karlsson was investigating in this case.

  She then opened the last file that Dexter had sent just as she got a text back from him.

  Peter would like to come talk to you. Is that OK?

  She looked around the room and shrugged. It still looked like a mess, but he would understand what had happened the night before.

  Of course. Send him over whenever.

  Dexter’s affirmative reply forced Margot into action. She finished the cleanup of the living room, replacing the cushions and putting a blanket over them to cover the rips and to even out some of the lumpiness. Then she turned back to the last file. She wanted to go over them before Peter showed up.

  The last file she clicked open was a video clip. Double-clicking on it, her media player opened and began to play the file. It looked like video surveillance from a camera mounted high above a walkway and was dated six days prior. From what she could see, despite the darkness and grain of the video footage, it was facing a pathway that led to a boat dock. She couldn’t see enough of it to tell if it was in North Bank or elsewhere, but before she could look for things to clue her in, three images appeared in the lower left corner.

  They slowly made their way to a point just above the
center of the video and one turned. She recognized him as Sid Lawrence. The other person on the right turned as well and, from the profile, Margot knew it was Adam. Her heart hammered in her chest. So there was evidence that Adam had met with Sid on the night of his death.

  The third person kept his back to the camera. He wore a hood and a trench coat that almost completely masked his appearance. Her breath caught at the realization. A trench coat. Just like the person she’d seen in the garage when leaving the city.

  She watched as the image before her stayed static. The men looked like they were having a conversation, and then they continued walking out of the range of the camera. The man in the trench coat never turned around.

  The clip ended, and she slammed her fist onto the seat next to her. Bits of fluff flew into the air and she ground her teeth. None of this information looked good. She wanted to ask Dexter where he’d gotten these files, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to tell her.

  She had to assume that, due to the seemingly damning nature of the files, the police had a hold of them. But they didn’t prove anything. Then she remembered Les’s information about the boat and Adam’s fingerprints.

  She rewound the footage and watched it again. The person in the trench coat was wearing gloves. She’d missed it the first time, but she’d been looking this time.

  Did that mean that they had kept the gloves on? Or had they not even gone on to the boat? She ground her teeth and nearly jumped out of her seat when the doorbell rang.

  Clint began barking and Margot shot him a look. “A little late, aren’t you?” she said with a smirk. The dog circled around on his bed and settled down again.

  She opened the door and Peter gave her a half-smile. “Thanks for letting me stop by.”

  “Of course,” she said, stepping back to let him in.

  “I assume you got the email from Dexter?”

  “I did. Just finished looking through everything.”

  He nodded solemnly. “I’m going to tell you what Adam is being accused of.”

  She felt her hands begin to shake.

  “I know that sounds dark, but I feel like you need to know, especially since—” He rubbed the back of his neck. “—since I know what a great detective you are.” She gave him a look, but he held up his hands defensively. “I’m working on it. Les is. But so is Karlsson and I have a feeling the more heads the better in this case. Besides, you’ve got a vested interest.”

  That she did. “What do you have?”

  He told her how they had the footage of him going down to the boat, and that there was another section of tape that showed the three of them getting on to the boat that eventually washed ashore. Then he explained how, though the bullet hadn’t been recovered, it seemed to match up with the specs from Adam’s gun, though that was inconclusive. Then he explained the piles of evidence that seemed to show Adam working in conjunction with Sid.

  “But that’s not right,” she said before she could help it. She remembered what Anthony had said. It wasn’t so much that he was working with Sid as he was working against cops. Dirty cops. But could she tell that to Peter? Wouldn’t she need proof? And would that proof blow Adam’s cover? Could it be possible that all of this was part of another sting operation to bring out someone from the woodwork?

  “Margot, there’s something else.” The way Peter said it made her blood run cold. “There’s a letter addressed to Karlsson from Sid that fingers Adam.”

  “In what way?” Margot managed to ask.

  “As a dirty cop.”

  7

  Margot paced in front of the venue where she was to have her wedding with Adam in a little over a week. She was waiting for Danielle to show up, seeing as how she had offered to act as an informal wedding director the day of the big event. This would be Margot’s last look at the venue before the day of the wedding and she wanted to make sure Danielle knew what Margot envisioned for the wedding itself.

  The owner of the small, exclusive venue wasn’t in that day, but his assistant had already opened the side gate that led to the small back yard area of the restaurant. She’d said if Margot needed anything she’d just be inside, but all Margot wanted to do was show Danielle the layout, give her a few instructions, and then move on to doing something—anything—about Adam’s supposed guilt.

  “Margot!” Danielle trotted up the sidewalk toward her. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I got a little lost.”

  Margot smiled. “It’s all right. I’m just antsy, I think.”

  “You look like it,” Danielle said with a knowing smile. “Pacing back and forth is what Peter does when he’s trying to solve a case.”

  “I just have a lot of excess energy.”

  “Understandable. Let’s make this quick so you can get back to work.” She gave Margot a knowing smile and they turned to walk down the narrow path to the back-yard area.

  Margot explained her vision for the day itself and Danielle took pictures, made notes in her phone, and asked precise questions. She even pointed out a few things Margot hadn’t thought of and had a solution for every issue.

  “You’ve got a knack for this,” Margot said, standing under the awning of the back porch and looking out over the yard. She could just imagine it filled up with rows of white chairs and the guests they had invited. She looked forward to the day, even if she was a little nervous about the groom being there. He wouldn’t be if she couldn’t prove his innocence.

  “Margot?”

  “Yes?” She pulled herself out of her thoughts.

  “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but don’t worry. Peter is doing everything he can, you are, and the police are too. I know that you guys will catch whoever really did this.”

  Margot’s thoughts trailed back to the video showing the men. She knew that the truth lay with the third man who couldn’t be identified. He was the key to it all. He had either seen what had really happened or, as Margot suspected, he had been the actual killer.

  That still left how Adam’s prints had been all over the boat and how the handcuffs used had been his. That was a bit of information Peter had shared with her early that morning on a phone call. Just more and more supposed evidence that made it look like Adam was guilty, even though he wasn’t.

  “Thanks, Danielle,” she finally said, pulling her thoughts from the dark place they had gone to. “I—”

  She was cut off by the smell of smoke. She and Danielle began looking around, wondering where the scent was coming from.

  “Is that coming from inside?” Danielle asked in shock.

  “I think so.” Margot’s pulse raced. “Go out to the front and call 9-1-1. I’m going in there to make sure that everyone gets out.”

  “But, Margot—”

  “Go! I’ll meet you out front” Margot hated using a harsh tone, but it was crucial that they get the fire department there within the next few minutes. She had a bad feeling about the whole situation and wondered why the alarm hadn’t already gone off.

  Rushing inside through the back door, she raced toward the kitchen calling out for anyone. When no one answered, she pushed the door to the kitchen open and was met with a wall of smoke and heat. Her gaze traveled over the scene. It looked like the fire had started on or near the oven on the opposite side of the room but was now spreading toward the front half. It would soon overtake the main room.

  She frantically looked around for the assistant and saw a pair of legs on the ground. Crouching down low, she moved toward the girl. She lay face down, a deep gash at the back of her neck. Margot felt for a pulse and was rewarded with one, even though it was faint. She let out a breath and tried to wake the girl to no avail.

  The flames licked closer to her and she feared they would overtake the gas line system to the stove any minute. Would that make the whole place go up in flames? Wincing at the thought of moving the woman but seeing no other way, Margot pulled her over the smooth floor toward the swinging doors.

  She stayed low and managed to get t
he girl out into the main area where the smoke was less. Just then, the girl awoke with a start and began screaming. Margot knelt beside her and tried to calm her down, assuring her that they were going to be all right.

  When the young woman had calmed down a little, Margot helped her up and they limped toward the front door. It was two glass-paneled doors that led out through a narrow walkway that eventually opened up to the street. It kept up the secluded air of the place by not being visible from the street.

  When Margot pushed against the doors, they didn’t budge.

  “Are these unlocked?” she yelled toward the young woman slumped on the floor. Her hand was at the back of her head pressing a napkin there that Margot had snatched from a table.

  “They should be,” the girl said, tears streaming down her cheeks both from pain and smoke.

  “They. Aren’t. Budging.” Margot put all of her weight into it.

  “I—I don’t know where my keys are.” The woman looked lost.

  Just then, something moved on the other side of the glass, catching Margot’s attention. She froze as a man in a trench coat and hat, his face covered by a black mask, stared at her from the pathway before disappearing. He’d somehow locked or jammed the doors from the other side. Terror raced up her spine at the realization. Had he also set up the fire in the kitchen? Was this all about her?

  Her thoughts crystalized in that instant and she raced to the chair next to where the young woman sat. “You’ll have to tell your boss I’m sorry about this,” she said right before she threw it at the glass doors. It bounced off and Margot looked at the doors in disbelief. How had it not broken the glass?

  “They are…” The girl gasped for a breath. “…too thick.”

  Margot stood taller, sending a quick glance to the kitchen where she could now see more flames. “That’s okay. We’re getting out of here.”