Buying Into Death Read online

  Buying into Death

  P.A. Wilson

  Perry Wilson Books

  Contents

  Buying Into Death

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  Chapter 1

  Also by P.A. Wilson

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Buying Into Death

  I looked around the space. The real estate agent was chirping on about the amenities for the office and all I could think about was that moving my office out of the house meant no more working in pajamas. It was for the best. If Lu’s fiancé was going to join me as a partner in the private investigation company, I couldn’t expect him to squeeze in to the living room of my home. Living in a floating house was great, but mine was definitely built for one. Lu was there with me, but she had already declared herself to be Switzerland. The choice was mine and Matthieu’s to make.

  “Ms. Deacon?”

  The perky voice cut through my wandering thoughts. “Yes?” The surprise on her face told me she expected more than that. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the question.” No point in trying to pretend otherwise.

  “Your business partner, will he need to see the offices? I have two others on this floor.” She rubbed at the dressing on her hand. When she’s met us at the door I’d asked if she was okay. The dressing covered half of her palm. Apparently, she’d taken a cooking class on the weekend and found out she had no knife skills.

  Matthieu was probably the best person to make this decision. At least he’d worked in an office. When we were in France last year, he’d been the only one on the gendarme force who believed us. “Oh, I’m sure that he’ll have an opinion, Maisie. I’ll talk to him and get back to you.” He was on a conference and wouldn’t be back for a week. I know it was cowardly, but I wasn’t ready to make the decision.

  Maisie looked like she was writing me off as a potential client. I guess she heard that line from everyone who wanted to say no, but didn’t want to explain why. “Okay, give me a call and I’ll show him around.”

  My phone rang and I took the interruption as a way out. I didn’t check the screen before I said, “I need to take this.” Maisie would just have to think every call was important.

  She walked to the window to give me some privacy. And show Lu the view again.

  Before I accepted the call, I checked. An old client, maybe it was new business. “Hey, Viola.”

  “Charity, thank god. I need you right now.” The panic in her voice made the words choppy. Viola Langton wasn’t known for her calm demeanor. This could be anything from a flat tire to a worldwide crisis.

  “Where are you?”

  “In the police station. They said I could call you. I’m being questioned about a murder.” She took a deep shaky breath. “I think they are going to arrest me.”

  So not a flat tire.

  “Call your lawyer. I’ll be there soon. Maybe I can talk to you, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

  Viola gave me a tearful thanks and ended the call.

  “We have to go, Lu.” I beckoned her over. “Maisie, the place is great. I really will get Matthieu here to see it. I just have an emergency right now.” I felt better about reassuring her, but Maisie was cynical, I could tell.

  “Sure. You have my information. Don’t wait too long. This is a prime location and it won’t last.”

  We waited until Maisie locked the door behind us and then headed to Lu’s car. I told her about Viola and asked if she would drop me at home so I could get my car.

  “No. I’ll drive. You can make calls on the way.” She beeped the car unlocked and gave me a sly look. “I kind of liked what we did in France.”

  “Lu, it’s dangerous.” I didn’t say Matthieu would kill me if I got her in trouble. That would just egg her on.

  “I know. And I don’t want to become a private investigator, but you need someone to help and Matthieu isn’t here.”

  It was just a trip to the police station to get information. It would help me if I could call Leigh on the way. Leigh had helped me unofficially in the past when her fellow cops wouldn’t. “Okay, just this one time.”

  * * *

  I walked up to the counter at the police station and asked for Constable Leigh Andrews and waited. It took twenty minutes for Leigh to finally arrive to take us back to the offices. I didn’t say anything about the delay because sometimes Leigh got all defensive about having another job. Like my clients weren’t important.

  When we were sitting at her small desk, Leigh pushed a sheet of paper toward me. “Here’s all we have so far.” Pointing at the few paragraphs of detail, she added, “Your client was found kneeling beside the victim. She was covered in blood. And she had a beef with the man.”

  That was enough to get her brought in, but the cops knew that she could have been trying to save his life rather than make sure she’d killed him. I tried to avoid stating the obvious. It tended to piss off the professionals.

  “There’s no location filled in.”

  “The guys on the scene haven’t completed the paperwork yet, this is the live document. It was in an empty office downtown. We don’t know why either of them were there.” Leigh checked the screen on her computer. “The Gardiner Building, suite 1001.”

  I hoped Lu kept her reaction off her face. I couldn’t risk looking at her and tipping Leigh off that we had some connection. That was the same building Maisie took us to. We had been on the fifth floor. I pulled out a pen and scribbled the information into the blank on the form. “When?”

  “Three hours ago.” Leigh turned the screen toward me. “I can’t print out another copy, Charity. This is live so when the detective is finished he’ll shut it down.”

  Lu leaned forward beside me to read the screen. I busied myself with filling in the remaining meager details before the document closed.

  “Can I ask why you are giving Charity this information?” Lu asked. I hoped she was distracting Leigh for a reason.

  Leigh closed the document and then opened an image file. “This is the preliminary crime scene photo. The techs are still on site.” A warning opened on the screen. “Damn.” Leigh closed the file. “They’ve put a password on the file. That’s all I can give you.”

  She hadn’t answered Lu’s question and I had to admit I was interested. “So why are you helping me? It won’t be good if you get caught, right?”

  Leigh sighed. “It’s not technically illegal, but it’s a bad idea to share this stuff. The press will get it soon anyway, there’s always someone who’ll pass it on. I’m showing you, and Ms. Cho here, because I know you’ll keep it to yourselves, and I know you’ll help us close the case in the long run. Even if you are a pain in the ass while we’re investigating.”

  I felt a warm glow at the thought Leigh trusted me. The pain in the ass comment was true and it was part of my charm, at least I thought so. “So, you aren’t sure that Viola did this?”

  “Sometimes everything just falls into place in an investigation. This one is just too pat. We got an anonymous call sending us there in time to catch the supposed killer. I’m not saying we don’t sometimes get lucky; I just want to make sure we check the luck in this circumstance.”

  So, what she was really saying is that she didn’t trust the cops who’d found Viola at the scene. I didn’t need to know if it was because they were just lazy or if they were crooked. It all came to the same thing. “Can I see her?”

  “She’s waiting for her lawyer. There’s no way I can send you in undercover. We all know who you are.”

  Lu leaned forward again. “What about me. I can go in as a friend. No one knows me, or if they do it’s for my community work.”

  Leigh laughed. “Don’t be too sure. But, it’s worth a try.”

  “I th
ought you just wanted to observe.” This is exactly how Lu gets us in trouble. Granted it’s usually me getting us there, but Lu has her moments.

  “I can help.”

  Leigh picked up her phone to get Lu a pass.

  While we waited, I gave Lu everything she needed to convince Viola to trust her. “Try to get any details… and access. If she has spare keys to her office, and a password so we can check her records. And anything she thinks will help.”

  The conversation would be recorded, but Viola’s lawyer would stop anyone using the information.

  “Okay, you have ten minutes.” Leigh stood up. “I’ll monitor the audio. I won’t alter anything, but whatever you get won’t be reviewed until the lawyer has been and gone.”

  “I know who she called. I’ll wait and let him know,” I said. “Lu remind Viola to tell him about the recording when she talks to him.”

  Lu nodded and asked me for a pad of paper. I carried small notepads for the job, but Lu’s purse wasn’t big enough to hold a Post-it note pad. “One more thing,” she said looking at me.

  “What? You won’t have too much time in there.”

  “I know, but if I’m supposed to be a friend, shouldn’t I know her full name?”

  Leigh answered before I could. “Viola Maclean.”

  Lu’s eyes widened. “The Viola Maclean?”

  “Yep,” I confirmed. “The very one. And that’s not going to help her in this situation.”

  * * *

  Leigh let me watch in the observation room while Lu talked to Viola. It might have been to assure me that there were no observers, but I didn’t care. It gave me a chance to see Viola’s reaction and I’d learned that the non-verbal was at least half of the communication.

  Viola looked stressed, but much better than the last time we’d been in this situation. This wasn’t her first run at a false accusation. I met her on the infamous stalker case. Viola had a stalker and it wasn’t the harmless over-reaching friend kind. It was a crazy woman who thought Viola was having an affair with her husband. Viola had come to me for help, not wanting to face the publicity that a police investigation would create. She was the ex-wife of a movie star, and had enough experience with the media to know what to fear.

  As soon as we started investigating the stalker reacted. She stole Viola’s identity and faked evidence that she was the victim of exactly what Viola claimed. The press had descended and even the ones who didn’t feed on the rumors destroyed the private world Viola had built for herself. The police had been involved and after days of questioning both women they were still unsure of who was making it up.

  I’d found the proof they needed: timing on calls, video evidence of Viola being threatened. The stalker was locked up. Her husband, who was having an affair, just not with Viola, got a divorce and the case was closed. Eventually, Viola got her privacy back.

  Lu had two objectives in her ten minutes. Get access to whatever we needed to investigate, and find out if Viola knew the victim. That information wasn’t in the file, and Leigh only knew it was a man.

  Viola had opened up to Lu, accepting that she was my agent without question. Lu and Viola kept their voices low, the audio equipment would pick it up, but anyone listening would have a hard time making out the details on the first listen.

  Lu was writing in the notebook I’d given her, asking questions quickly to make the most of her time. Viola seemed to pull herself together and gave the information without any embellishment.

  Both women looked at the door. I hadn’t heard the knock, but it was apparent that someone was disturbing them. Lu stood and slipped the notebook into the waistband of her jeans.

  “One second,” she called out. Then leaning in to Viola she said, “We’ll figure this out.”

  Viola grabbed Lu’s hand and held her there for a moment. Whatever she said it was too low for me to hear.

  Lu collected me from the observation room and led me to the lobby. I didn’t enjoy being in the back seat of the investigation, but maybe I’d have more compassion next time I did that to her.

  “Wait,” I said as she headed for exit. “I have to talk to her lawyer.”

  “That was him. I reminded Viola to tell him about our meeting and I made sure he knew who I was before I left.”

  Okay maybe I should stop worrying. “Well?”

  “We have to get to her office before the cops do.” Lu ran to her car. “There’s some information she needs taken out.”

  Viola worked out of her home. She organized events for local charities. Since the house wasn’t a crime scene, we could take whatever we wanted before the cops had a search warrant. “What about the kids?”

  “They’re with their father. Viola doesn’t want us to tell them anything.”

  Lu drove in her usual breakneck manner and we pulled into Viola’s Point Grey residence within ten minutes of leaving the station. There were no cops parked in front. No press hounding us for answers. We were probably just ahead of all of that.

  Lu punched the code into the lock and then the security system.

  I closed the door behind us and grabbed her arm as she hurried toward the office. “Lu, stop for a second. I can wait for most of the information, but I need to know who died.”

  “Bob Vickers. They were in a relationship.”

  That wasn’t good. The girlfriend was like the spouse in a murder investigation; the number one suspect.

  Lu grabbed the laptop from Viola’s desk and handed me the combination to the file cabinet and a list of names. “Take out these files. Viola wants these clients left out of any publicity.”

  I opened the cabinet, stuck the files in my purse and then relocked it. The laptop might be considered evidence, but we were just acting on client instructions. “Anything else?” I asked Lu since she seemed to be in charge.

  “No. Viola’s calendar is on the laptop. The cops can find the same information on her phone so we’re not taking anything away from their investigation.”

  I took the laptop and shoved it in my purse, giant purses were key investigative equipment. “Let’s get out before we get company.”

  “What about finger prints?”

  “Don’t worry we have a legitimate reason for being here. And wiping our prints removes any others. That might make it harder for Viola to look innocent.”

  We slipped out of the house, setting the security and locking the door behind us. “Just find a place on the street to park,” I said. “I want to see how long it takes for the cops to come, and the press.”

  While we waited, I flipped through the paper files. All of them were clients with active accounts. Most of them were high profile and I understood why they wouldn’t want to get involved in a scandal.

  Lu was looking through Viola’s calendar. I turned from a file at the sound of indrawn breath. “What?”

  “She had an appointment to meet Bob today at that building. An hour before she was found with the body.”

  It wasn’t like Viola to be late. “Anything after that?”

  “No, just a half hour booked to meet Bob. Then a lunch meeting.”

  That didn’t look good. If Viola was supposed to meet him an hour before he was killed, why had she come back?

  The street started to fill with cars. A couple of cruisers and an unmarked cop car bracketed the entrance to Viola’s home. A block away I saw the telltale dish of a satellite transmitter approaching on the first news van.

  “Let’s go. I need to talk to Viola’s lawyer.”

  * * *

  I called ahead to the law firm, but Dick Treacher was busy for the next hour. I knew Viola would be his number one priority, but it was possible he had a court case to delay. I let his receptionist know we’d be there in an hour. If he was still delayed, maybe Lu could stay and talk to him while I went to the crime scene. It was unlikely I’d be welcome to tramp around the scene, but maybe seeing the office would give me a perspective on Viola’s innocence.

  We stopped at a Starbucks for coffee a
nd a quick snack. I locked Viola’s things in the trunk of Lu’s car while we were gone. We didn’t have time to do a thorough search of the laptop and I didn’t want to take the chance someone would steal it while we were in the coffee shop.

  Lu handed me the rest of the notes she took in her interview. “Is there anything we can do right now?”

  The only other case that Lu had been involved in was the search for Audrey. In that case, we spent most of the time searching for the woman, and Lu spent any free time we had getting to know Matthieu better. Most cases didn’t move that fast. “I can call for her phone records,” I said. “Maybe we can figure out what she did with that hour. But it will take a while to get the information. Our best bet is to talk to Dick. He’ll have information from Viola, and we can ask him to get more if we need it.”

  “It feels like we should be doing something,” Lu said. “I guess Dick is in charge of getting Viola out, and the dead guy isn’t going anywhere.”

  “No, and we can’t go see the autopsy, or gather our own DNA evidence, or hack into a database for clues. The TV cops have all the advantages.” I laughed. “We do fine in real life, Lu. We’ll figure it out.”

  “You mean prove her innocence, right?”

  That was tricky. “We need to keep an open mind. If we decide that she’s innocent, we might overlook something important that proves she’s not.” I tried to sound professional, but I was afraid my doubt was there for Lu to read. The missing hour was bugging me and until we had evidence to explain it, or another suspect, I couldn’t banish the suspicion.

  My phone rang and I didn’t recognize the number. “Hello.” My all-purpose greeting allowed me to pretend it was a private line. It came in handy with the press and other side effects of the PI business.

  “Charity, it’s Dick.”