04 Lowcountry Bordello (13 page)

“Okay, that came out of left field. What makes you think they aren’t safe where they are?”

“It’s a gut feeling.” My gut’s name was Colleen. I stared at my quilt. “It all comes down to motive. Whoever killed Thurston Middleton very likely did it for one of two reasons. Scenario one: to maintain the status quo at the bordello. The underlying motive would be lust, maybe even love, or money, depending on who the killer was—which side of the transaction they were on. If this was the motive, then Julia is also in danger if the killer knew her history with Aunt Dean.”

“Julia, yes. The women in the house across the street, no.”

Colleen said, “I don’t need his help. Or permission, for that matter. I can have that house cleared out in five minutes flat.”

I tamped down my irritation.

“Exactly, Nate, but scenario two is anger and/or revenge. If it was Seth, he was royally pissed off that Thurston wasn’t paying him blackmail money, and was afraid Thurston was going to the police. And he probably thought killing Thurston would solve most of his problems, keep the bordello open. As long as he takes care of Julia quickly.”

“And if it was someone else?”

“Then the killer was angry that Thurston planned to put a stop to all the sex and/or money. The killer was smarter, perhaps knew Thurston better. He maybe knew that killing Thurston wouldn’t keep the bordello open. Things had gone too far. Julia knew that Thurston was investigating Aunt Dean’s boardinghouse, as did anyone else Thurston had confided in—possibly someone connected to his campaign. Killing Thurston served no real purpose except to make the killer feel better. This killer saw the bordello as irretrievably lost already. Leaving Thurston on the floor in the bordello probably gratified the killer’s sick sense of poetic justice.”

Nate looked thoughtful. I continued, “This scenario scares me most because the killer will almost certainly want to cover his tracks, eliminate anyone or anything that could tie him to the bordello as soon as possible.”

“You’re assuming our culprit is one of the men?”

“I’d say that’s far more likely. Could one of the women have struck a six-foot-tall man in the head from behind with enough force to kill him? She would’ve had to’ve held the pineapple over her head with both hands and attacked while he was walking towards the door.”

“It would be easier if we knew their fitness level. Height and upper body strength are huge factors here. The tall redhead maybe could’ve done it if she works out,” Nate said. “Still…I agree. It was more likely one of the men. And we don’t know if the motive was lust, money, revenge, or something else we haven’t uncovered yet.”

“Exactly. I think we should err on the side of keeping everyone who might possibly be in danger safe.”

Colleen said, “And we need to step on it.”

“Hold on a minute,” said Nate. “You’ve just made a compelling case that we have a perfect trap already set. If you honestly believe the killer is coming back to permanently silence his mistress, why don’t we wait until he shows up and grab him?”

Colleen started glowing.

“That won’t work.”

“Because we turn off the cameras when they start touching each other,” I said. “We can’t assume every man who shows up is here to kill someone. We can’t possibly know who’s in danger until it’s too late to intervene.”

“All right,” Nate said. “Fine. How are we going to convince the ladies to leave, and what safe place did you have in mind?”

“Hmmm…” I grasped for a glimmer of a notion.

My phone rang. I glanced at the screen. Olivia. I tapped the button to accept the call.

“Hey, Olivia, you okay?”

“
Ohmygod
.
Ohmygod
.” It sounded like she was hyperventilating. I pressed the speaker button and laid the phone on the dresser so Nate could hear. “Seth just called Raylan. Raylan called me. Then Seth called me.
Ohmygod
.”

I said, “Olivia, slow down. What did Seth want with Raylan?”

“Aunt Dean somehow figured out Thurston was killed in the house. She
said
she heard noises. She
said
when Thurston’s body turned up at White Point Gardens, she wondered if there was a connection. But Seth didn’t believe her. He knew Raylan was there last night.”

“Oh no.” This was on the fast track to torment. It was one thing for Aunt Dean to know Seth had removed a body from the house. She was no threat to him. Anyone else Seth believed had witnessed that body in the house was in danger.

Olivia babbled on.

“Raylan.
Ohmygod.
I had no idea he was there. Seth thought Raylan must’ve seen the body and told Aunt Dean. Raylan…he didn’t know that Seth didn’t know I was there. He told Seth neither he nor I had seen any dead bodies.”

“Oh no.” Seth hadn’t known Olivia was there until Raylan told him.

“Oh yes. Well, of course now Seth knows
I
saw the body and he has it in his head that I told Aunt Dean. Which of course I did no such thing. But he is livid. Liz,
he threatened my children
if either Raylan or I tell anyone there was a body in the house last night.” She broke down into sobs.

“Olivia. I need you to calm down. Let me think.” Based on what Colleen had told me, even if Seth hadn’t killed Thurston, he was a stone-cold killer several times over. I glanced at my watch. Nine forty-five. I looked at Nate and murmured, “We’ve got to neutralize him now. Olivia and Julia are both at risk.”

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“Olivia, where is Robert?”

“Right here, Liz.” Olivia had her phone on speaker as well.

“Good. Robert, I need you to call Seth. Tell him that you and Olivia have discussed it, and you want him to have the house. She’s going to sign it over to him tonight. You’re drawing up papers and you want him to meet you at your office at eleven o’clock. This is important. Tell him you want this done tonight, as a gesture of good will. And throw in some things about how he is to stay away from your wife and children.”

“But—”

“I’m not asking you to actually
do
this—draw up papers or give him the house. It’s too late for that now. But I need you to get him to Stella Maris ASAP. He needs to be on the ten-thirty ferry. Tell him you’ll get him a hotel room if he baulks about having enough time to catch the last ferry back tonight. Likely his greed will outweigh any minor concerns such as that. Just get him over there.”

“And then what?”

“As soon as you’re off the phone with him, take Olivia down to the police station and have her file a complaint. Blackmail, communication of threats, general jackassery…whatever else you, she, and Blake can think of. Get Raylan in on it—he was threatened, too.”

Olivia commenced wailing.

“
Noooo
. Dammit, no. I’ve gone through way the hell too much trying to keep all of this quiet to let it come out now.”

“Lookit,” I said. “You are going to have to be strong here. There is so much going on in that house and it is all coming out, sooner rather than later. I can’t stop it. There’s just no way any of us can. People will talk, but so what? You haven’t done anything illegal. You’re just going to have to hold your head up and get through this. We’ll all be there for you.”

Robert said, “But even if Blake arrests Seth, he won’t be able to hold him long. He’ll get an attorney. Be out on bail in a few hours.”

“Robert, you know how small towns work. Everything moves at a slower pace. It will take a while for his attorney to get over there. He’s surely not going to hire you, and we’re lawyer poor just now. The judge may go fishing tomorrow if the weather clears. Or he could be off for the holidays.”

“I hear you,” Robert said.

“We just need Blake to hold onto Seth for a day or so until Sonny comes to get him. And trust me, Sonny will be coming to get him.”

“Are you going to call Blake?”

“As soon as we hang up. Bye now.”

I selected Blake’s name from my favorites list. He answered on the second ring.

“What’s up, sis?”

“Robert and Olivia are on their way in to file a complaint.” I brought him up to speed.

“I’ll meet them at the station. There’s a lot you’re not telling me, right?”

I sighed. “Yes, but I promise to tell you as soon as I can—as soon as I have time. Please call me the second you have Seth behind bars.”

“Will do. You still in Charleston?”

“Yes.”

“Nate still there?”

“Right here, Blake,” said Nate.

“Watch each other’s backs.”

“Always.” We both spoke at once.

“Liz, you need to finish up whatever you’re doing and come home. Mom’s driving the rest of us bat-shit crazy because you’re in Charleston and not here playing wedding with her.”

“I know. I’ll be home soon.”

“See to it.”

“I will, I promise.”

Fourteen

At three minutes ’til ten, the garage door at 12 Church opened, and the black Dodge truck backed out.

“Thank God—Seth’s on his way to Stella Maris.” I called Robert to verify Seth had agreed to come. He’d been eager—no surprise there. Olivia, Julia, and the residents of 12 Church Street would be safe from him soon. But he wasn’t the only danger. Time to commence Operation Clear Out the Bordello. The trickiest part of this was going to be explaining it to Nate without explaining Colleen to Nate.

Colleen sprawled across the bed, her head propped on one hand, impatiently drumming the fingers of the other.

“We’ve got to get those women out of that house while we can,” I said.

“What exactly are you proposing?” asked Nate.

“I’ll take the Explorer, load them up, and catch the last ferry over to Stella Maris. We’ll stash them at our house with Merry. That way, they don’t scatter, and Sonny can find them when he needs to. But they’ll be safe.”

“I’m not at all enthusiastic about having four houseguests who we know very little about, and what we do know doesn’t reflect well on their character. But that’s beside the point, really, because you’ll never get them to agree to that plan, certainly not in less than an hour.”

“First of all, these are students. The most significant thing about them is not that they’re letting older men pay their rent and give them spending money.” My back may have been up just a bit.

“Liz—”

“And secondly, I have to try. You stay here and keep an eye on everything. If I can’t get them to leave, you can say ‘I told you so.’”

He sighed. “As you wish. Proceed.”

“If this works, I’ll see you in the morning.” I kissed him bye.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

This was what scared the hell out of me. What exactly would he see? How much explaining was I going to have to do? “See, I’ll be perfectly safe—you’ll be watching.”

“Like a hawk. Nevertheless. Be careful.”

“Always.”

Colleen appeared beside me on the sidewalk. “Let’s start with Dana. She and Roxanne were friends. She’ll be the easiest.”

Or the most freaked out.

“Same thing.”

Nate and I installed cameras with audio and video feed in every room. Can you interrupt the connection
?

“Yes, but I’ll wait until we’re inside. Otherwise, he’ll try to get you to abort.”

I crossed the street and headed towards the street side door to the porch.
Okay. But here’s the thing. I’m also wired. He can hear everything I say and anything I can hear. And he can talk to me on my earwig. I can’t disable it. He has to be able to hear me. He’ll worry, and may well come running across the street. But we can’t let him hear you or Roxanne
.

“Sheesh. This would be easier if you just stayed outside.”

And then how would I explain the girls showing up on the sidewalk
?

“I’ll handle it.”

I unlocked the door to the porch, opened it, and closed it behind me.
How
?

“I’m going to screw with your transmitter.”

Nate needs to be able to hear me, or—

“Prince Charming will come rushing to the rescue. Got it. I’ll handle it.”

Hey…leave the men from under the pool out of this. We don’t need anyone going into cardiac arrest tonight
.

“Fine. But it would’ve been more fun with them. Meet you in Dana’s room.” She faded out.

I let myself into the house. It was pitch dark. Didn’t Miss Dean believe in nightlights? I turned on the flashlight on my phone, climbed the stairs, and made my way to the main-house Huger room.

The door to Dana’s room—the one where she slept—was locked. Voices, low and urgent, drifted to me from inside. I knocked twice and the door unlocked.

“Wait,” said Nate in my ear. “There’s something odd going on in that room. The lights aren’t on, but I can see flashes of glowing colored lights. I hear women talking, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.”

I moved quickly into the room. Dana, Colleen, and Roxanne, the lingering spirit who appeared with flowing blond hair, were in a game of keep-away around the bed.

Colleen
.
Cameras. Audio
.
Transmitter
.

In my ear, Nate said, “What the hell? Liz? Are you all right? All the audio and video feeds went to static. Can you hear me? What the hell is going on in there?”

“I’m fine. I can hear you.”

Dana’s head swiveled towards me. “How did you get in here? Who are you?”

Roxanne said, “Trust her. She will help you.”

Colleen floated towards the ceiling and glowed in golden light. “Leave tonight, or by tomorrow you’ll be one of us.” She’d materialized, which meant Dana could see her.

I said, “I’m Liz Talbot, I’m a private investigator. You’re in mortal danger here. Come with me. Please.”

Dana looked from me to Roxanne, to Colleen, then back to Roxanne. “I thought you’d gone home. That’s what they told us.”

“What’s she talking about?” Nate said into my earpiece.

“I don’t know,” I said.

Roxanne shook her head sadly. “Too many people have died here. Leave now.”

Dana nodded rapidly. She fumbled for her purse and bolted for the door, passing me on the way.

I caught up with Dana. We slipped back into the main house. “I’ve got to get the others,” I said. “Wait for me on the porch.”

“I can help,” Dana said. “I can talk to them.”

The instincts of a nurse, to save others.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Nate said.

Colleen faded in beside me. “No. It’s better if they’re scared to come back here. The men will pressure them if they can get them on the phone.”

“No,” I said. “Go on outside and wait for the others. Keep them with you and keep them quiet. Hurry now.”

Dana hesitated, then darted towards the stairs.

Heather’s room was the next closest. It was also the closest room to Miss Dean’s. “We’ve got to keep her quiet,” I said.

“What?” said Nate.

“I need to be quiet. I don’t want to wake Miss Dean.”

“Roger that. I don’t know what the hell happened to these cameras. I won’t be able to warn you if she wakes up.”

Colleen passed through the door, no doubt because she could, then opened it for me.

“I’ll be fine,” I said to Nate.
Showoff
, I thought hard at Colleen.

Colleen approached Heather’s bed. She went to floating and glowing.

Roxanne appeared on the other side of the bed. She was transparent, but added no theatrics to her ghostly appearance.

I clamped my hand over Heather’s mouth.

Her eyes flew open and she started slapping at me. Then she must’ve seen Colleen. She tried to scream.

I put my knee on the bed and pressed my hand tighter to her face. “Shhh. Hush now.”

Heather scrambled to a sitting position.

Colleen said, “You are in grave danger. You must leave here tonight and never come back.”

“Heather—Heather—it’s me, Roxanne.”

Heather tried to scream again. She went to shaking and rocking.

“You have got to be quiet,” I said. “If Miss Dean hears you, we’re all in trouble.” I wasn’t sure what I thought Miss Dean would do to stop us, or try, but I had a strong suspicion it was better for her to sleep through the exodus.

Roxanne said, “I died here. If you don’t leave, you will too. Leave now. No matter what anyone says, don’t come back.”

I thought Heather’s eyes were going to pop out of her head. I was afraid she might be having trouble breathing. “If I take my hand off your mouth, will you be quiet?”

Her head bobbed up and down.

Slowly, I released my grip and eased off the bed. “I told you before. You’re in danger. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Roxanne said, “You can trust her. She’ll help you. Go on now.”

Heather said, “What are you, the ghost of Christmas freakin’ present?” She slid out of the bed and into a pair of flats near the bed. She grabbed her handbag, darted an expectant look towards me, then stared at the apparitions.

“Let’s go,” I said. “Wait for me on the front porch. Dana is already there.”

Amber and Lori came along in much the same manner. Shortly, we were all on the front porch. Some of the women had on shoes, others were barefoot. They all had their handbags.

“Okay,” I said, “we’re going across the street to number fifteen. Through the gate, then back to the Explorer parked behind the house. Stay with me.”

Once everyone was on the sidewalk, I said to Nate, “We’re clear.”

“Roger that. Keep me posted.” His voice was tense. I suspected there would be much to talk about later.

“I’m getting static on this earwig now,” I said. “I think all our communications have been compromised. I’ll call you from the car.” I pushed the button twice to disconnect.

I led the group to the Explorer. They stayed close and quiet. I opened the doors, put up the third row bench seat. Heather was the first one in. She moved to the back, buckled her seat belt, and hunkered down. Lori and Amber settled into the second row. Dana rode shotgun. Colleen had vanished in the commotion.

I turned around and headed out the gate. Once we were a few blocks away, I popped in my earbuds and called Nate on my iPhone to reassure him again. “I’ll call you when we get to the house.”

No one said a word until we were on the Cooper River Bridge. I said, “As I mentioned to each of you, I’m Liz Talbot. Olivia Pearson and her husband retained me. Y’all know Olivia, right?”

They replied in a chorus of “of course,” “well, yeah,” and “naturally.”

“Where are you taking us?” asked Dana.

“To my house, on Stella Maris. I have a top-notch security system. You’ll be safe there for a couple of days—until we can sort things out.”

“What the hell was that back there?” asked Lori.

“Roxanne,” said Dana. “She used to live in the empty room above the garage. They told us she moved home to Nebraska about a year back. Seth was heartbroken. He was always sweet on her. He must’ve known she was really dead.”

Lori said, “So her…ghost…came to warn us to leave? Who else was with her?”

“I don’t know who that was,” said Dana. “Maybe someone else who died in that house. I’m just glad we got out.”

“Me, too,” I said. “And I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe. But I’m going to need your cooperation on a few things.”

No one said a word.

“First, I need you all to promise me you won’t leave my house until we know it’s safe. And I’ll let you know when that is. Promise me? No one leaves—even for an hour?”

“I promise,” said Heather.

“Me, too,” said Dana.

Lori and Amber confirmed.

“And because your gentlemen friends will try to harass you and possibly even have you tracked, I need your cellphones.”

No one piped right up and agreed to that.

“What if we just agree to not accept any calls from the men?” asked Amber.

“That will work up until the point one of you feels bad because they might be worried. Then you’re all at risk. And if any of them has enough pull with someone inside the police department, he can maybe talk them into tracking your location. Again, you’d all be at risk.”

“Who are we at risk from?” asked Dana.

“Seth, for one.” I didn’t fill them in on his impending incarceration. “And there’s also a decent chance at least one of your…benefactors…has a violent streak.”

Dana said, “There may be a misunderstanding about that.”

I glanced over at her.

She smiled a sly little smile.

“I’m not talking about what any of you do for entertainment. One of these gentlemen may be under the impression that one or more of you know something that could get them arrested. For murder.”

“Murder?”

“Who was murdered?”

“I don’t know anything about a murder.”

“Are you talking about the guy in the park?”

The car erupted in chatter. Disbelief, indignation, fear, and rebellion ran loose. I pulled to a stop at a light on Highway 17 in Mt. Pleasant. It occurred to me any one of them could be texting right then.

When the light changed, I pulled through the intersection, and immediately started looking for the next opportunity to get off 17. At the next light, I made a right, then a left onto Johnnie Dodds, then pulled into a Sherwin Williams parking lot and brought the car to a stop. For a moment, I entertained the notion of putting them all out right there. But if one of them came to harm, I couldn’t live with myself. Also, Sonny would be that much madder if I lost his potential witnesses.

“Ladies, please,” I said.

The noise level in the car grew.

I opened the car and got out.

Lori opened the passenger door behind me.

Colleen swooped in and hovered in front of the car, her red mane in a starburst around her head, shimmering, sparks flying.

In a collective gasp, the women hushed.

Lori slammed the door closed.

“Give her your phones,” said Colleen.

They all scrambled to pass them forward. Dana took them and laid them on my seat.

I leaned in. One by one, I turned them off and dropped them in my tote. “I promise to give you these back as soon as the danger has passed.”

“Do as she asks and you might live through this,” Colleen said. Then she did a pyrotechnic stunt worthy of the Fourth of July and disappeared.

Tomorrow, no doubt, there would be wild speculation in the news about the strange lights in Mt. Pleasant. But the women in the car were blessedly quiet. I climbed back in, glanced around. Four pale, wide-eyed faces stared towards the front of the car. Dana’s lips moved in what I’d bet was silent prayer.

I closed the door and drove towards home, praying the quiet would last. Time to call Merry and let her know what was coming her way.