Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 02 - Necklaces & Nooses Read online

  “Maybe she is just coming on to him?” I didn’t really like how Jeff treated Anna, but I didn’t want her hurt either. I was hoping to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Oh no, this is his response.” She clicked on the message to open it and started reading. “I would like to get to know you better by talking to you.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything besides friends.”

  “Except he doesn’t mention anywhere in this email thread that he has a girlfriend, and she obviously is thinking he doesn’t or else she doesn’t care. Take this away from me. I just can’t stand to read anymore.”

  I took the laptop from her, logged off, and shut it down. Setting it on the floor, I turned to Anna and refilled her wineglass. I could tell she was upset, and I had seen time and time again how much he hurt her. But I could also understand you weren’t done with a relationship until you were really done, and emotions weren’t always something you could force yourself to stop feeling. Even when intellectually you knew you should.

  “Do you want to talk?” I said.

  “Why, so you can just say I told you so again? I know I’m stupid.”

  “Not stupid, Anna. I hate seeing you hurt like this all the time, which is why I say you need to kick him to the curb. But I also know what it’s like to love someone and hope they will change. While maybe not the smartest thing to do, when you look at the situation rationally you can’t help how you feel, and emotions don’t always make sense. Hell, they hardly ever make sense.”

  “I need to realize he will never change, at least not with me. But, Presley, I know he loves me.”

  “He does love you.” I actually had no doubts that he did love her. He just wasn’t ready to settle down and took her for granted. That was clear by his actions. Before Cooper, I was much more judgmental of Jeff, but I now had a better understanding of how difficult love was.

  “Did Willie find out who broke into your condo?” Anna said attempting to change the subject.

  “No. It’s disappointing, but whoever did it didn’t leave prints, and none of the doormen remember anyone who wasn’t a tenant. They found a door at the service area that had a busted lock. The maintenance guy said it wasn’t like that a week ago, so Willie is assuming that somehow someone cased the joint and found that was a weak spot.”

  “That’s just weird they didn’t take anything.”

  “No kidding. They obviously were looking for something. But neither Willie nor I have any idea what. I don’t have anything of value. Any criminal worth their salt should have noticed that right away.”

  “Maybe that’s why they trashed the place. They were angry that you didn’t have anything for them.”

  “It just doesn’t make sense. There are many people in my building that have a lot more than I do. Willie thinks whoever it was felt I had something they wanted, specifically. I think that Peter guy is involved somehow.”

  “What does Willie think of him?”

  “That there’s not enough proof to say.”

  One thing that really had me confused was that I didn’t understand at all what the faux German guy, Peter, wanted so badly with accessories from Silk. It didn’t make sense. After seeing him at the funeral, I had told Willie he had to be involved in this somehow. These were way too many coincidences. But Willie didn’t completely agree with me that the connection was necessarily bad. He hadn’t been able to find anything concrete connecting Peter with anyone from a sinister standpoint. Obviously Peter knew someone in the family or he wouldn’t keep showing up, but Willie said he couldn’t just assume it was for a bad reason without proof.

  I told him that sometimes the connection wasn’t obvious, and he didn’t really like that. He had the audacity to say I shouldn’t be worrying myself about the investigation so much. We got into our first minor spat, if you could even call it that, about my involvement, and I basically told him he should have not asked my opinion if he didn’t want it. He muttered something under his breath I chose to ignore, and we hung up.

  I didn’t think he was really angry, just annoyed. I seemed to have that effect, first with Cooper and now Willie. I had sat there since getting off the phone trying to figure out what the possible link could be. Willie had said this guy had a record for petty crime. James was a lawyer, so maybe that was a connection. Although James’s firm handled mostly white collar crime not smash and grab—Willie’s term not mine—it was plausible. Criminals and criminal lawyers seemed to run in the same circles. Or it could be completely unrelated, and I could be totally off base, and Willie right. Somehow I doubted it.

  “And you don’t agree?” Anna asked.

  “Not really. I think it has to mean something that he keeps popping up all over.”

  “Is there anything you can do about it? You know, to convince him.”

  “I had thought about one thing I could do that might give me some more insight, but then I would have to admit I was taking an active part, well, sort of active, in an investigation. I would once again have to listen to someone complain about what I was doing, but it might be worth it.”

  “Are you talking about Cooper? You want to call and ask him for help?”

  “Well, I thought about it.”

  “Do it. What have you got to lose?”

  She was right. What was the worst that could happen? So I got yelled at. I looked at my phone, trying to decide if I should dial. What the hell, I had already been chastised once today. What was once more? I dialed.

  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

  “Is that sarcasm?” I teased.

  “No. I’m really glad you called.”

  “You might not be when you hear why I’m calling.”

  “I might have guessed. You need something.”

  “Don’t be like that, Cooper. I don’t just call when I need something.”

  “Every time you call me you need something. So what am I supposed to think?”

  I knew he was somewhat joking, and I admit it did look bad. “Cooper, I do like to talk to you when I don’t need something. I’ve just been busy. And I just happen this time to be able to talk to you right now and ask you a favor. I’m multitasking, being efficient.”

  “Okay, ask.”

  “First promise you won’t get mad.”

  “How come I can pretty much assume when you say that it’s because I’m going to get mad. People never say that unless they expect the other person to get mad. Just spill it, and I promise to try not to get mad. What are you involved in?”

  “I need you to run a background check for me.”

  “Is this to do with your boss’s murder? The investigation you just told me a couple days ago that you weren’t involved in?”

  “I wasn’t then, now I am, sort of. I didn’t call you to give me a hard time. Can you help me or not?”

  “Don’t be so touchy. You know I’ll help you. I just hate to see you put yourself in danger.”

  “I’m not putting myself in danger. Don’t worry. Geesh, all you men are the same. All I want is some information to help Willie.”

  “Willie?”

  “Detective Landon, the detective investigating the murder.”

  “Why can’t he get the information?”

  “Because he doesn’t believe me that this guy might be a viable suspect. I thought if I could get him some more information, then he would believe me and investigate further. There has to be a connection to James somehow. I just know it.”

  “James?”

  “Solange’s husband, soon to be ex. He’s a lawyer.”

  “Why does there have to be a connection?”

  “Because I think so.”

  “So you’re telling me that you want me to get you information that will help you become more involved?”

  “Cooper!”

  “Okay, fine. Give me what you know on both of them.”

  I was relieved that he finally quit giving me the third degree, and I gave him what I knew. He pr
omised to look into it and call me back as soon as he had some information.

  Anna had been texting and then left when I was on the phone with Cooper. I called her to see what was going on and why she left, but I got her voicemail. I assumed she was with Jeff giving him hell after what she found on his Facebook. I settled into the couch and channel surfed while waiting for Cooper to call back. I finally settled on HGTV. I am neither handy nor a crafty person, so I truly enjoyed watching these shows. It was like magic. How these people came up with these ideas I had no idea.

  I was watching Kitchen Impossible where these talented designers and construction people made old outdated kitchens cool, funky, and spacious. That episode they were making a sink out of concrete. I thought it would look like a sidewalk, but once they finished it off and glazed it, it was the coolest thing. Very industrial looking, which isn’t normally my style, but it looked so good with the neutral colors of the rest of the kitchen. Some day when I won the lottery or ran into the Kitchen Impossible people at the local Home Depot—which would never happen because I didn’t go to Home Depot—I might be able to redo my kitchen. It was the only room I hadn’t touched yet since I’m not a big kitchen fan. Cooking fans’ kitchens I’m fine with, especially if they come equipped with a chef and dishwasher.

  I heard my phone ring and saw it was Cooper. I was excited. It hadn’t been but a few hours since I had originally asked him for the information, so I was glad that it hadn’t taken him long. Maybe it was something useful. I just hoped he wasn’t going to yell at me again for being involved. I really wasn’t meaning to be involved; it just kind of happened, and it was for a good cause.

  “Hey, Cooper. That was fast.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s because there isn’t much information. I wish I could be more helpful. I pulled up the same petty crime stuff you said your detective had found, but when I dug a little deeper and cross referenced it with James, I did find something.”

  “You did?” I said, excited and feeling extremely validated.

  “Now calm down. It may be nothing. When you tell your detective, he might decide it’s nothing or to take it further, but leave it up to him.”

  “Tell me.” I hadn’t missed the fact that Cooper called him detective but wasn’t going to bring it up. Surely, Cooper didn’t think I liked this guy. Though I did, kind of. Was that bad? I felt guilty, and there was no reason to do so. I was sure Cooper was dating other people. As hot as he was, he had to be. He was a great guy.

  “Every law firm usually handles a certain amount of pro bono work. It’s their way of giving back to the community, which is good because at their exorbitant fees, they need to give something back.”

  “Okay, okay, I get it, lawyers charge too much. Tell me something I didn’t know. What else?”

  “One of the lawyers in James’s firm handled one of Peter’s offenses as a pro bono case. This wasn’t a junior partner or anything, so I highly doubt James would have been involved in any way. Besides, he seems to handle mostly white collar financial crimes.”

  “But it’s still a link,” I mused. What did this have to do with Solange, if anything?

  “Presley, I did this for you because I would do anything you asked, but I really don’t like you involved in this.”

  He was being sweet, and it made my heart hurt, but he was too overprotective. This behavior, while I could understand where he was coming from, was one of the many things that hurt our relationship. He needed to let me be my own person. “Cooper, I promise you I won’t do anything stupid.

  “Okay.” He sighed. I could tell he didn’t believe me, and he was probably right not to. I had no intention of putting myself in danger, but it didn’t always seem to work out that way. That lesson I had learned last time.

  “Bye, Coop.”

  “Bye, Presley. Call me in a couple of days okay?”

  “I will,” I said, hanging up. I paused for a minute, not wanting to call Willie right away. I had such mixed feelings about Cooper. If I thought we could make it work, there would be no question of who I would want to be with.

  I finally called Willie, and he answered on the first ring like he was sitting waiting for my call. I’m sure he wasn’t, but it was interesting to think about.

  “Calling to apologize?” he asked good-naturedly, and I could instantly tell he was no longer annoyed, which made me happy. Not just because I didn’t want him to be annoyed at me, but also because I wanted him to be receptive to the information I was about to give him. I just hoped this didn’t annoy him all over again.

  “Fat chance, but I do have some information for you if you’re done pouting over me telling you how to do your job.”

  “Have you been doing more investigating?”

  “Well, someone has to.”

  “Ouch! You’re a tough woman.” He knew I was teasing him, and I was happy to be back on the teasing track rather than the annoyed one.

  I filled him in on what I had found out from Cooper. He was good and didn’t interrupt, but when I finished he just sat there. “Well?” I said.

  “I’m thinking”

  “Care to share?”

  “Well, standing alone, I might not think much of it, but coupled with Peter coming into the store, it is a bit of a coincidence. Worth checking out, but you have to promise to let check it out.”

  “Okay fine, but you must keep me in the loop.”

  “I will if you promise to stop bugging me about my detective skills.”

  “Well, if your ego can’t take it…”

  “Ha!”

  Chapter 11

  The day after the funeral, I was ready for things to get back to normal, although I knew it wasn’t that simple. While I knew that someday I would need to move on from Silk, and hopefully pursue my writing, I really did enjoy working here. The daily routine was always different, and I loved the clothes, the fashion of it all, and usually the clients as well. As high maintenance as they were, the customers were nice and fun to work with for the most part. They had the money to spend and had no problem spending it if they liked something. That was what made my job easy.

  I had arrived at the store early that morning to go through the shipment from yesterday and see what needed to be put out and what special orders had come in. With all the things going on, I felt it would be nice to come in and have a normal routine day and forget, for a while at least, what was going on. I unpacked the boxes and had my usual excitement in discovering new things. Solange always had the best taste, it might not make sense upon first glance, but the end result was good. I had a lot to live up to if I expected to even come close to her ability to choose the right product mix for the store. The clients were used to having unique things, and I needed to make sure they continued to get that or they would go elsewhere.

  I turned the steamer on so I could make sure all the garments were in pristine condition when I put them on the sales floor, and I pulled together some outfits to put on the forms in the windows. We liked to change them every few days in order to keep the windows fresh and exciting to the foot traffic we got in front of our store daily. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost time for Lily to arrive. She could assemble the new displays in the front windows while I got the store ready to open for business.

  I enjoyed steaming clothes, as it was mindless work that had instant gratification. I was working my way through the rack and thinking mostly about Willie and Cooper and how much they were alike yet different. A knocking on the door jarred me out of my thoughts. That must be Lily, I thought, as I hung up the steamer handle and flipped the switch off. I walked out of the back room and could see Lily waving to me through the window. I unlocked the door to let her in. “Good morning.”

  “Morning, Presley. Been here long?”

  “Not too long. I unpacked the shipment from yesterday and started steaming the pieces for the windows. If you want to pull some accessories and start undressing the forms, I’ll bring you up the new outfits, and you can put th
ose together. We have about thirty minutes before the store opens, so I’m going to start getting the business side ready, and then I will call the clients with the special orders to let them know the pieces are ready for pick up.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Lily back to put her stuff away and I walked over to grab her the clothes. I rolled the rack to her in front and then went back to the office to start on opening paperwork, the part I liked least. I just had never been a paperwork kind of gal. I got it done and started making calls to clients whose orders had arrived, and got through a few before I realized it was ten o’clock and time to open the store.

  I walked out front with the cash drawer. Lily had just opened the doors, and one of our best clients Shavon Wilson was following her in. Lily rolled her eyes as she walked toward me. Shavon had money to spend and we loved her as a client, but she was a bit on the loud obnoxious side. I was sure she came here more to grill us on the murder than to buy a new outfit, since she had just dropped about ten grand a week ago on a new line we recently started to carry. Even the wealthy had to have their limits, didn’t they? However, I was going to push our new arrivals on her and try not to talk about Solange.

  “Hi, Shavon,” I said. “How did you know we just received several new pieces?”

  “You know me, Presley, I can sniff out new fashion a mile away.”

  I stepped out from around the counter to take her over to the rack. “See? We haven’t even had a chance to put these out yet. Should I pull your sizes? You can go in your normal fitting room.” As soon as I said it, I realized that was the fitting room Solange had been murdered in. Would clients want to go in there? As this was running through my head, Shavon walked away from me to the big fitting room she normally used and closed the door. Maybe my fears were unfounded. I followed behind her to hand her the clothes over the door.

  “So, is this the room where they found Solange?”

  “Yes, it is.” My voice cracked, and I had to clear my throat. So not only did she not mind using this particular fitting room, but she was also asking questions. Why? To personally observe a murder scene? I shuddered. That was creepy, even for me. Granted, I had been in the room to clean and so had the other girls, but I wouldn’t have sought it out if I were a client. People were odd.