1 Sunshine Hunter (21 page)

He went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. “Jenny has rental properties in New York. I told you about that
,” he said. “A management company takes care of everything for her, and she gets a pretty healthy check each month from rents. I know she puts some of the money into our college fund for Alex, but it’s also her mad money.”

He took a couple of swigs from the water bottle. I didn’t want to break his thought process, so I was quiet.

He spoke as though it pained him to say the words, “Wicker eventually talked her into giving him money. Money for a better apartment, money for a better car, money for acting lessons. He told her he had connections on Broadway. In return, he would continue to help her and share his theater knowledge with her. She didn’t have any idea the money was going for gambling and gambling debts.” He looked at me and asked, “Are women really that gullible? Do women really give men money just so they will pay attention to them?”

“I don’t know, Mick,” I told him sympathetically. “I’m sure most women don’t, but you do read about it online all the time.”

“She admitted to giving him thousands of dollars. Almost all of the New York rent money for the last eight months has gone to Wicker. Last Saturday she gave him another $3,000.” I could see his jaw set in a tight line. “She’s given him money from my paycheck.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Because we’re getting divorced, she’s selling the New York properties and putting most of the proceeds into a trust for Alex. She also won’t have access to my salary after the divorce, so she let Wicker know that very soon she wasn’t going to have any extra money for him.”

It was
starting to make sense to me now. By Mick and Jenny divorcing, Wicker’s golden goose was drying up. If he could keep them together, he could keep the money coming in, and he was desperate to do that.

Mick continued, “I finally asked her where he was. She said she didn’t know. She hadn’t heard from him since she gave him the check last Saturday.” He sat down beside me again,
“Susan, I knew right then what you told me about seeing him in Florida had to be true, and I knew you were right about being in danger. Serious danger. I called the police, and they put me in touch with Detective Bentley. It wasn’t easy to get him at midnight, but I was persistent. I finally talked him into taking a few officers and going to your apartment, but when we arrived, you were gone. Darby stuck his head out to see who was banging on your door, and he told us you were closing the club. He wanted to come along, but Detective Bentley told him if he saw him at all, he would have him arrested for obstruction of justice.”

I couldn’t help but t
o let out a little smile. Poor Darby.

Mick
continued, “It was after 1:00 when we got to the club. Everything was dark - even the parking lot. But I could see your car, and it has four flat tires.” I rolled my eyes. Nothing would surprise me now. “The front door was unlocked, and the officers went in first. Detective Bentley was threatening me if I didn’t stay outside, but there was no way I wasn’t going in. One of the officers found the switch for the lights, and Susan, my heart stopped. We could see where the two of you had struggled. A couple of chairs were turned over, one of the sofas was shoved up against another, and there was blood on the floor.” He stopped, his voice catching from emotion in his throat. He coughed and continued, “There wasn’t much blood in the hallway, but there was enough to know someone had been dragged to the women’s locker room. I had to wait outside the door while the officers went in with guns drawn.

Detective Bentley told me
they were able to surprise Wicker. He had turned on the whirlpool, which was actually a good thing, because it kept him from hearing the officers enter the room. He was holding you by the ankles and was preparing to
fix everything
by drowning you in the whirlpool.” He closed his eyes for a moment as if to shut out the image. “Once they had him in cuffs, they couldn’t keep me away from you.”

He sat back down close beside me. He looked intently at me, yet with tenderness in his eyes, and said, “Su
san, I was so grateful you were alive. I couldn’t believe I almost lost you – when I had just found you.” He reached over and gently brushed my cheek with his fingertips.

“If you were at the club, why didn’t you come to the hospital?” I asked him.

“I did,” he said. “By the time I got there, they had already taken you back to stitch you up. A nurse told me they would be keeping you overnight for observation, and she would let me know when you were in a room. I went down to the coffee shop for a cup of coffee. When I went back to emergency to ask for your room number, they told me you went home. I rushed right over, but you weren’t here. I didn’t know what to think.”

I smiled and said, “The cab took forever to come, and I was in the restroom for a while checking out my head bandage and my scratches and bruises. We must have just missed each other.”

“There’s more,” he said. “Detective Bentley stopped by the hospital to see you, but we both thought you were already gone. He said to tell you that Wicker Barnes, a.k.a. Ted Burns, was at the station blubbering like a baby and admitting to everything, including accidentally killing Jerry when he meant to kill you.

He al
so said a few things I didn’t understand. He said Wicker simply walked out of the police station in Charlotte when no one was paying attention to him. He used his real name to fly back to Ohio, which is why none of the airlines had him flagged as a
no fly
. He said he’d be making a couple of calls to help someone named Johnny.” He looked at me with a puzzled look. “And he said he’s stopping by tomorrow to pick up some evidence you have. Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Oh my gosh! The powder! It was still in my pocket. Wicker must have confessed to planting it in my bag. “I do know,
” I told him with a smile. “And I’ll fill you in on all the things you don’t know tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a plan,” he said as he returned my smile. He stood up, threw the afghan back, and scooped me up into his arms again. I nestled my head on his shoulder. He moved toward the bedroom door. “But for now,” he said, “I think it’s time I put you to bed.”

###

Easy-breezy reading from Breezy Books!

Big Apple Hunter, A Susan Hunter Mystery #2
- Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. … But now she has life-changing decisions to make. Should she accept the new position with Slimmers Weight Loss? Should she give in and move the relationship with Mick to the next level? . . . When Darby has business in New York City, Susan jumps at the chance to tag along intending to indulge in a weekend of shopping. It doesn’t take her long to realize she’s being hunted in The Big Apple. And what does the stalker have to do with Darby’s new client? It becomes a matter of life-and-death when the stalker shows up in Carbide City demanding something Susan lost in New York. … Humorous, sometimes ominous,
Big Apple Hunter
is entertaining and perfect for summer reading.

Sin City Hunter
, A Susan Hunter Mystery #3
– Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. … She’s in Las Vegas for ten days of work and play. Her parents come in from Dallas to spend some time with her and have their own fun. But fun turns to terror for Susan when a magic act goes wrong. … When a man is murdered, Susan knows who did it. Unfortunately for her, the killer knows that she knows. Her actions in Sin City ultimately put not only her own life on the line but that of Mick’s as well. … Humorous, sometimes ominous,
Sin City Hunter
is entertaining and perfect for summer reading.

Big Easy Hunter, A Susan Hunter Mystery #4
– Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. … When Susan is accused of being a cat burglar, and a serial rapist is on the loose over by the mall, she takes off for New Orleans to attend a wedding and finds even more trouble in The Big Easy. … Humorous, sometimes ominous,
Big Easy Hunter
is entertaining and perfect for summer reading.

Breezy Books
- www.breezybooks.com