Case of the Secret Life Read online

  Detective Donovan came up on the porch. “Do you have the surveillance tape?”

  And hello to you too. I nodded and pulled out my cell phone. I accessed the surveillance feed, hit the button to start and then showed it to him. He watched for a few moments and then looked at me.

  “Okay, I saw two people going into your back door.”

  I nodded. “Yes, and one was Hannah Williams.”

  “Yes, but no laptop.”

  I rolled my eyes and took my cell phone back. I fast-forwarded to close to where they came back outside. Then I looked at him. “If you had just waited I could have shown you what happened when they came back out twenty-five minutes later.” I pushed the button and handed him the phone again.

  Detective Donovan watched for several seconds and then looked closer at the screen. He let out an expletive and then handed me back my cell phone.

  “Okay. What do you want us to do?”

  I noticed movement and looked passed Detective Donovan to see Hannah and my neighbor walking towards my house with the other police officer behind them.

  “What is the reason for doing this?” Hannah indignantly said. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

  I rolled my eyes. I wanted to tell her in no uncertain terms that I had her dead to rights, but I let Detective Donovan take the lead.

  He looked at the two women. “We have proof that you and Mrs. Helmond broke into this house and you stole a laptop.”

  Hannah sucked in her breath and crossed her arms across her chest. “We did no such thing.”

  Now that I knew my neighbors name, I looked at her. Hannah had an indignant look on her face, but Mrs. Helmond looked guilty. I looked at my cell phone again and decided to bypass the entry scene, but queued up the exit with Hannah’s face in it, with her holding my laptop. Then I held it up so she could see it.

  “You mean to tell me this is not you?”

  Hannah looked at the screen and then shook her head. “No, it is not.”

  I blew out my breath. “Mrs. Williams, I have three surveillance cameras. After you left the back door, both of you walked passed my side door that also caught you holding my laptop and then to the front of the house where I have another camera. I watched both of you walk across the street and into Mrs. Helmond’s house. Furthermore, you are both wearing the same clothes that are shown in the surveillance footage.” Then I stepped out the door and stood in front of Hannah. “According to the time stamp on the surveillance tape, you were in my house for twenty-five minutes. What did you do? Go through everything in my house? What were you looking for? Incriminating evidence? I could tell you even went through my dresser drawers. That is an invasion of my privacy.” Actually, I only noticed one drawer. Then I leaned in closer to her and raised my voice. “I want my laptop back. Now.”

  I felt a hand on my arm. It was Detective Donovan.

  “I’ll take it from here,” he said to me. Then he looked at Hannah and Mrs. Helmond. “I have seen the surveillance tape from when you went in the house and when you came back out. You both have not only broken into her house, but you stole her laptop. That is breaking and entering, and theft. That is a felony that both of you could be charged with. Mrs. Helmond, where is the laptop?”

  Mrs. Helmond hung her head. “At my house,” she mumbled. “We couldn’t get into it.”

  “Go get it,” Detective Donovan demanded.

  Mrs. Helmond nodded. Then she turned and walked back to her house, with the other police officer following her.

  Hannah glared at Detective Donovan. “Why haven’t you arrested her for killing my husband?”

  I started to say something, but the detective shook his head. He looked at her.

  “Mrs. Williams, she did not kill your husband.”

  “She has a gun.”

  “Yes, she does, but we have no way of knowing what kind of gun killed your husband.”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open and her eyes got big. “You found no bullets?”

  Detective Donovan shook his head. “No, we didn’t. The bullets went through him. ”

  Hannah was not convinced it was not me. She shook her head. “She has a gun. She had to have shot him.”

  Detective Donovan blew out his breath. Then he looked at me. “Do you have your gun handy?”

  I nodded. Then I went back inside the house and retrieved my gun from my messenger bag. I took out the clip, laying it on my desk. Then I walked back outside, handing my gun to the detective. He smelled the gun and then handed it back to me. Then he looked at Hannah.

  “Her gun has not been fired recently, so this is not the gun that killed Benton.”

  Hannah shook her head. I knew she was not going to give up on me being Benton’s killer. If she only knew what I learned today. I have a notion to put Hannah in her place and tell her, but I have more information to find. Then I will tell her.

  A few moments later, Mrs. Helmond came back across the street with the laptop and the cord in her arms. Hadn’t noticed they had taken the cord, but I should have known they would take it too. Mrs. Helmond handed me the laptop and cord. I checked the laptop, but there was no apparent damage. I was glad I had put a password protection on my laptop.

  “Since we have proof of what they did and they gave you back the laptop,” Detective Donovan said, looking at me. “What would you like me to do?”

  Time for revenge. “Charge them with breaking and entering, and theft of personal property.”

  Hannah narrowed her eyes at me. “We didn’t find anything,” she yelled.

  I nodded. “I am sure you didn’t because it is password protected. But, you still broke into my house, rummaged around and stole my laptop, so I want you both of you arrested. Maybe now you will believe I had nothing to do with your husband’s death.” I paused a moment and then thought of something. “I do have a question for you. I heard your husband went fishing a lot. Where did he go fishing?”

  Hannah shook her head. “What business is that of yours?”

  “Then I will ask the same question,” Detective Donovan said. “Where did he go fishing?”

  Hannah blew out her breath. “I have no idea. Somewhere close around here, I think.”

  “Does he have fishing gear?” I asked.

  “Of course he does.”

  “Where is it?” I asked.

  “He has a locked box in the bed of his truck. He puts his fishing gear in there.”

  “What kind of fish does he catch?”

  Hannah shook her head, but said nothing.

  “Does he tie his own flies?”

  That took Hannah off-guard. “I don’t know. Is it important?”

  I nodded. “Yes. If he ties his own flies then he will have the supplies at home. Does he?”

  Hannah shook her head. “No.”

  “Has he ever brought fish home to eat?”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “If he actually catches fish, then he should have brought the fish home. Where else would he take them?”

  Hannah shook her head again. “I have no idea, but he never brought any fish home.”

  If I hadn’t already figured out that Benton Williams did not go fishing, at least for actual fish, that would have done it. Although, if he actually had gone fishing, then he probably would have taken the fish to Holly.

  “Well,” Detective Donovan began. “If we are finished here, then Officer Hampton can take both of you to jail. Tomorrow the judge will set bail and if you can pay it, then you can go home. But under no circumstances can you come anywhere near this house. Do you understand?”

  Both women nodded and then Officer Hampton escorted both of the women to the back seat of his squad car. A few moments later, he pulled out.

  Detective Donovan looked at me. “What are you thinking?”

  “That Benton Williams has never fished a day in his life.”

  He nodded. “I agree. I don’t think he has either. Of course, that is what the gossip is saying.”

 
“I know. Although the gossip could be wrong on their assumption of which kind fishing he is doing.”

  Detective Donovan laughed. “You could be right.”

  “Have you found anything yet?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No, not much.”

  “What kind of pickup truck did Benton have?”

  “A 2015 black pickup truck.”

  “And you haven’t found it yet?”

  “No, not yet. I even notified the county to have them watch for it.”

  That is strange, I thought. The truck has to be somewhere, but where? Then I thought of something else. “Does he have a cell phone?” I already know he does, but I am not about to tell him that I already have his cell phone number.

  “Hannah said he does, but it was not on his body.”

  “Have you tried pinging it to see where it is?”

  Donovan’s mouth dropped open. “What made you think of that?”

  I almost wanted to laugh. “You’ve never had to do that?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “So, what happened when you pinged his phone?”

  “Nothing.”

  Benton turned off his cell phone. “Okay. Maybe you will never find it. Is there anything I need to do?”

  Detective Donovan nodded. “Yes. Come in tomorrow and fill out an official complaint. I will have it ready for you. Also, is it possible to get a copy of the surveillance tape from the time they went in until they left?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure, but I will check into it. I will send it to you if I can.”

  “Okay.” He paused a moment. “I don’t blame you for charging them. I don’t know when people are going to learn they cannot do that. Hannah Williams is a strong woman, but considering her husband, I can understand why. But that does not excuse her from being so adamant about you being her husband’s girlfriend.”

  I nodded. “I have no idea where she ever came up with that, but I have told her at least twice that I have never met him. She just does not believe it.” And after what I now know about him, I would not look twice at Benton Williams.

  “Okay, if there is nothing else, I will leave. Be sure to come in tomorrow morning to sign the paperwork.”

  “I will. Thanks for your help.”

  We said goodbye and I watched as he walked to his car and got inside. A moment later, he pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the station. I turned and walked into the house, closing the door.

  Well, that is over with. Nothing like a diversion to throw off my schedule. Now that I have my laptop back, it is time to get some work done.

  CHAPTER 14

  I sat my laptop on my desk, plugged it in and then turned it on. Then I went to the kitchen to get a can of Pepsi, opened the can and took a long drink. It is too early for dinner, so I will work for a while. I went back into my office and sat down, placing the can on my desk. First on my list, I have to check the box. I retrieved the box from the serving bar and sat it on my desk.

  The box is eighteen inches square and ten inches tall. It is not very heavy, but something else is inside besides the papers I saw on top. Why did he hide the box in the apartment? Was he hiding it from someone? That could be, but who was he hiding it from? It is time to see what is inside. I opened the top flaps and looked inside.

  Paperwork is laying on top. I took the pages out and looked at them. There are ten pages, reports of some kind. When I looked closer, I found they are financial reports for the import rug store. Wonder if Benton has someone who does his taxes and these pages are supposed to go to him. For now, I laid them on my desk. Then I looked inside the box again.

  Three nine-by-twelve inch manila envelopes are next. I pulled out one envelope and opened it. Inside, it is stuffed full of small pieces of paper. I pulled out one of the papers and looked at it. There is writing on it. A date and underneath is a letter and number. What is this about?

  Then I had a thought. Sam at the rug import store mentioned seeing Benton checking out the new rolled up rugs, by putting his hand in each end of the rug and pulling something out. Then he put whatever it was in his pocket. Sam called it a ticket. Are these the tickets? Must be.

  Then I noticed writing on the front of the manila envelope. Dates. Specifically a range of two years. The next manila envelope also had a two-year range, but the third one did not. There is no end year. It listed just this year.

  I sat down in my chair. The tickets are for five years. The rug import store opened seven years ago. Why aren’t there tickets for the two previous years? Then I pulled out a few more tickets and compared them. The handwriting is different. At least two different people wrote out these tickets. But what do the tickets represent? The imported rugs? Somehow, I doubted that was correct. Benton would have gotten a shipping form when the shipment arrived. The number listed on the ticket showed more than one. It showed three. Three what?

  As I looked at a few more tickets, I found the numbers varied from one to six. No explanation of what the numbers represented, but I know it was not the rugs. Mercedes Import Rugs sells two types of rugs. Persian and Oriental. Then I remembered Sam said they deal with an export company who deals with both types of rugs. So, two or more people at the export company wrote the tickets.

  Where are those types of rugs made? Only one way to find out. I logged into my computer. Next, I went to my favorite search engine. Then, one at a time, I requested to know which countries make these rugs. As the results came up, I was surprised. Oriental rugs come from a variety of countries in the Asian area. China, India, Turkey, Iran, Nepal, and a few other countries. Persian rugs are made in Iran.

  An export company who deals with both types of rugs. Like a broker? Not sure what they call it in the Asian area, but here in the U.S. that sounds about right. How did Benton come in contact with a foreign broker? Does Benton have this information written down somewhere? I can only hope.

  Then I turned my attention back to the box. I knew by the placement of the last two manila envelopes that the box is not empty. So, I stood up, took out the remaining manila envelope and looked inside the box again. I sucked in my breath.

  Inside, are five large jewelry bags. I picked one up and felt something hard inside. Curious, I pulled open the top of the bag and then emptied the contents on my desk. My mouth dropped open when I saw what was now laying on my desk. I sat down hard in my chair.

  Rocks. Definitely not river rocks. Wrong color. Instead, there is a variety of colors. Red, bluish purple, green, pink. Wrong shape too. Not smooth and rounded like a river rock is. These are rough and angular. They are not pebbles, but are about three to four inches long and wide. No question, these rocks were mined.

  I leaned back in my chair. This is getting worse. Okay, I need to see what is in the other bags. I scooted my laptop over and then gathered the rocks together, putting them in a controlled pile. And then, one at a time, I emptied each of the remaining four bags. Two more of the bags contained the same kind of rocks as the first bag I had opened. Doing a quick count, there are about ninety rocks in the three bags. Thirty rocks in each bag.

  However, the last two bags are completely different. Same size as the others, but these rocks are somewhat opaque and very pink. I shook my head. What are they? What are all of these rocks and why did Benton have them?

  I leaned back against my chair. What was Benton Williams involved in? I am getting the feeling it is nothing good. Now what do I do? I have to find out what these rocks are and see if they have any worth. They must have some worth if Benton hid them in an apartment he probably rarely used.

  I have to find somewhere I can take these rocks and find out what they are. I won’t take all of the bags. Just one bag and one of the pink rocks. I blew out my breath. Another trip to Indianapolis. And because I need to find out what Benton was involved in, I will have to go tomorrow.

  I looked at the pink rocks and picked out one. Then I bagged the rest of the rocks and kept out one bag of the multiple colored rocks to take. Now, where do
I put the four bags? No one knows I have them, so they should be safe in the event they are worth something. Still, what with what Hannah did today, I do not trust her. Thankfully, my filing cabinet’s lock, so I picked up the four bags, went to one of the filing cabinets, opened the second of the four drawers, put the bags inside, covering them with papers. Then I closed the drawer and locked both filing cabinets. I took the keys and put them in the center drawer of my desk. That should keep them safe. At least I hope so.

  I sat down in my chair again. Another question came to me. What was Benton Williams going to do with the rocks? Guess it depends on what they are. Something tells me they are not plain rocks. Wonder what Benton planned on doing with them? If they have some worth, was he going to sell them? That’s possible, especially if he knew they have value.

  I sucked in my breath as another thought came to my mind. Are these rocks what came inside the shipments of rugs? I looked at the manila envelopes. Is the letter and number listed on the tickets related to the rocks? I shook my head. Too many questions I have no answers to. Obviously, Benton was involved in something. What that is, I have no idea. Hopefully, tomorrow I can find some answers.

  Then I remembered something. I have to finish the file of background checks. Since this is day number two, I have to finish them today and get the report sent to the CEO of the pharmaceutical company. I pushed Benton Williams and everything I had found out about him out of my mind. I have work to do.

  For the next three hours, I worked on the file and getting the report ready. Rather than sending a report on each individual person on the list, I simply told the man I was sending it to that most of the people who worked for his company had a clean report. Except for three people that I found. Two men and one woman, whose background checks came up suspicious. All three worked in the same department that had the problem and each had a similar problem in a pharmaceutical company in New York. On those three, I typed up a complete report on each of them. Then I sent the report. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that not only is this job finished, but also because this will solve the company’s problem.