3 Men and a Body (31 page)

woman was going down on a guy in a movie that had

obviously been recorded on a videocam.

“Man, what’s with all the homespun porn lately?”

“Dude, I’m a distributor.”

“Of porn? Since when?”

“I’ve always done it, here and there. But there’s a bigger

market now for the homemade stuff, and it’s usually

pretty cheap to come by. I buy a master, and send it off to

a shop in Korea. They take care of orders and fulfil ment. I

get a check every month.”

“Why do people buy porn when they can get it free on the

Internet?”

Chance lifted his hands. “It’s one of the great mysteries of

the universe.”

Wesley dropped into a chair and squinted. “This one

doesn’t look that hot to me.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s that Kiki girl. I paid a hundred grand

for it, but it’s going to make me a mil ion.” He looked up.

“Hey, didn’t you bring her body back from Florida?”

“Yeah.” Wesley leaned in closer. “Who’s she with?”

“I don’t know.” Chance picked up a piece of paper. “The e-

mail says it’s some developer in Atlanta.” He laughed.

“Poor schmuck. If he has a wife and kids, he won’t have

them for long.”

Wesley held his head. His mind was chugging away, and he

knew he was missing something. He dialed Jack Terry’s

number, and after a couple of rings, Jack answered.

“Jack, it’s Wesley Wren.”

“I’m on another call, I’l get back to you.”

“Dude, this might be important.”

“Don’t ever call me dude. Tel me, quick.”

“Kiki Deerling’s sister, the one who owns the restaurant,

what’s her name?”

Jack sighed. “Um, Kayla, I think.”

“Isn’t she engaged?”

“Yeah, to some developer. Why?”

“I’m watching a sex tape with Kiki Deerling and her sister’s

fiancé. You said you needed motive for murder. Is that

enough?”

Jack was quiet for a few seconds. “Ten times over.

Where’s the tape?”

“I got it. But you need to get to that restaurant. That Kayla

chick invited Carlotta to eat there tonight because she was

grateful for her help. Carlotta’s there with Peter right

now.”

“I’m on my way.”

“I’l meet you there with the tape.” Wesley hung up the

phone and ejected the DVD. “Dude, I need to borrow this.”

“Wil I get it back?”

“Maybe. And it’l be worth more.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’re stoned, you’re going nowhere.” Wesley punched

in Coop’s number. After the fourth ring, he picked up.

“Hel o?”

“It’s Wesley.”

“This better be good.”

“Carlotta might be in trouble.”

There was a moment of silence, then, “I’m listening.”

“I need for you to pick me up at a friend’s house.”

“What’s the address?”

Wesley gave it to him.

“Be out front in three minutes.”

35

Carlotta stared at the pendant hanging around Kayla’s

neck. “You kil ed your own sister. You strangled her and

took the pendant. Why?”

Kayla’s face twisted in hatred. “Because she had

everything and it wasn’t enough! She had to have the only

thing that was mine—Jamie.”

Carlotta glanced at the woman’s fiancé. He looked guilty.

And scared. But he was fol owing Kayla’s lead. Was his

obedience in exchange for her forgiveness?

“Jamie gave her the pendant,” Carlotta guessed. “They

were having an affair.”

“He made a mistake, and we’l work through this.”

“It was you Naomi heard Kiki arguing with. You kil ed her

and let everyone believe it was an asthma attack.”

“That’s what everyone wil go on believing,” Kayla said.

“After you’re gone.”

“But why kil Matt?”

“Because the jerk saw me. He was high, but he remembers

enough. And you—you should’ve just minded your own

business.” The woman grabbed Carlotta by both arms in a

steely grip, then looked at her fiancé. “Get her.”

Jamie Reardon approached, Taser raised. A little flash of

electricity jumped between contact probes. Carlotta

screamed as if she’d already been zapped. With what little

strength she had left, she swung her cast back into Kayla’s

stomach, with enough force that the woman relaxed her

grip. Carlotta wrenched her arm loose and raised the cast

against the Taser.

She heard the clicking noise, waiting for the pain to light

up her arm and immobilize her body. Instead, she heard a

thunk behind her.

“Drop it,” Peter said.

She turned to see him standing there in just enough light

to reveal the handgun he held pointed directly at Jamie

Reardon. Carlotta nearly wet her pants in abject relief.

“Peter! Thank God.”

“Get behind me,” he said, and she did. Kayla Deerling lay

on the ground in a heap. Peter must have hit her with the

gun.

Reardon dropped the Taser and kept his hands in the air.

“This wasn’t my idea.”

“He injected Matt Pearson with heroin,” Carlotta said.

Peter handed her his phone. “Call 911, and go inside.”

She called for an ambulance, but the sound of a siren

stopped her from going into the restaurant. A familiar dark

sedan with a red light roared into the parking lot. Jack was

out of the car practical y before it was stopped, his gun

drawn. “I got him covered, Peter. Put away your weapon.”

Peter opened his jacket and put the pistol back into the

shoulder holster he wore.

“Where did you get that?” Carlotta asked, stil incredulous.

“At the pawnshop when I found your ring. Then I got a

permit to carry it concealed.”

“And you decided to wear it to dinner?”

He put his arm around her shoulder. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t

going out with you again unprepared.”

She hugged him tightly. “Thank you for coming to look for

me.”

“I came to apologize for pressuring you. I figured you’d

come out here to have a smoke.”

“I don’t smoke…much.”

He laughed. “Okay. And don’t worry. I’l always come

looking for you,” he murmured, and kissed her.

When the kiss ended, Jack was standing there, frowning.

“Would you like to give a statement now or later?”

“Later,” they said in unison.

“I’m taking her to the emergency room to get checked

out,” Peter said.

“Good idea. She’s been through a lot lately. First the

broken arm, then a hit-and-run, and now this.”

Peter frowned down at her. “What hit-and-run?”

“Jack,” she said, neatly changing the subject, “how did you

know I was in trouble?”

“Wes called me. He saw a sex tape that Kiki made with her

sister’s fiancé and put two and two together.”

Two ambulances screamed into view, and Coop’s van was

right behind them. Jack directed the EMTs to Matt Pearson

and Kayla Deerling. Coop and Wesley jumped out and ran

up to the scene.

Wesley hugged her. “Are you all right, Sis?”

She pul ed back. “Thanks to Peter…and you…and Jack…and

Coop.”

“All right, we get the picture,” Jack said dryly. “It was a tag-

team effort.”

Paramedics revived Kayla Deerling, then loaded her into an

ambulance. Jack sent a uniform with her. She glared at

Carlotta until they closed the ambulance door. The group

watched in tense silence as the EMTs worked on Matt

Pearson, but at last one of them gave Jack a thumbs-up.

Carlotta exhaled in relief. The man had problems, and she

was furious with him for attacking her, but she didn’t want

to see him dead.

A crowd was gathering fast. An SUV pul ed up and a wide-

bodied man emerged.

“Ferragamo Shoes!” she said, pointing.

Jack frowned. “Who?”

“It’s the other man guy who was trying to steal the body!”

“The man who tried to steal my van at the restaurant,”

Coop added.

The big man rushed up to the ambulance where they were

loading Matt Pearson on a gurney, an IV connected to his

arm. “What happened?”

Jack intercepted him. “Who are you?”

“Gregory Young, private investigator.” He held up his

hands. “I have a .38 on my belt.”

“I’l take that,” Jack said, then reached inside the man’s

coat and removed the weapon.

“ID in my breast pocket.”

Jack retrieved it, then put it back. “What’s your

involvement here?”

The P.I. gestured to Carlotta. “Didn’t Matt tel you?”

Carlotta glared. “You and Matt bound and gagged me,

then you left. He didn’t tel me anything.”

When Jack made a move to cuff him, he said, “Hang on a

minute. Let me explain.”

“Make it fast, buddy. Right now you’re looking at assault,

grand theft auto and tampering with a corpse.”

“Matt Pearson came to me a few days ago, said he’d

witnessed Kiki Deerling being strangled. But he’d been

high on heroin at the time, and knew his testimony

wouldn’t hold up in court. He needed an autopsy. When

the M.E. in Boca Raton decided not to do one, he hired me

to take the body for an independent autopsy.”

“That’s a felony,” Jack said.

“To prevent someone from getting away with murder. We

were going to make sure the body got back to the family.

Matt just wanted the truth to come out, that’s all.”

“I’l need for you to come down to the station to make a

statement. And don’t even think about leaving town.”

“No problem.” He looked at Carlotta. “I’m sorry we scared

you, little lady, but we were just trying to keep you quiet

until Matt could explain everything.”

“I think he was trying,” she said to Jack, “before Kayla and

her fiancé came out and attacked him.”

“What happened to Matt?” the P.I. asked.

“He was injected with heroin,” Jack said. “But the

paramedics say he’s going to make it.”

Carlotta gasped. “Jack, I just remembered. Kayla said

something about me missing dessert.” She looked at Peter.

“I’m afraid she might have put something in it.”

“I’l go check it out,” Jack said. “Peter, get her to the E.R.

Do me a favor—put her in restraints once you get her

there.”

“I’ll get the car,” Peter said.

“You might need these,” Coop said, holding up her shoes.

“And is this your purse I found by the Dumpster?”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “Although I have no idea

how those cigarettes got in there.”

He smiled. “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, I wil be. You?”

“Yeah, I wil be.” Coop winked. “It looks like you’re in good

hands with Peter.”

She nodded. “He is a good man. My cup runneth over

lately.”

He made a rueful noise of agreement. “So,

congratulations, Ms. Wren. Your persistence paid off.

Thanks to you, Kiki Deerling wil get justice.”

“So now there wil be an autopsy?”

“Most definitely.”

“But if she had heroin in her system, her sister might get

off.”

“It’s possible,” he said. “But maybe Kiki was clean.”

Carlotta nodded. “I hope so.”

Peter came striding up. “The car’s ready. Let me carry

you.”

“Don’t be sil y. I can walk.”

He bent down and whispered, “Do this one thing for me.”

Carlotta smiled and relented. She looped her arm around

his shoulder and he picked her up. As he carried her to the

car, she looked back at Coop. The tight, wounded

expression on his face tore at her. It was exactly what she

hadn’t wanted to happen.

“You’l take Wesley home?” she called, her heart in a bind.

“Of course,” he said, then lifted his hand in a little wave,

and turned away.

36

Wesley noticed his hand was shaking when he twisted the

doorknob to open the front door.

“How was your probation meeting?” Carlotta asked when

he walked into the living room. She was lying on the

couch, recuperating from the night before. His gut

clenched when he thought of how badly the scene at

Diamonds could have ended.

“Fine.”

“Did Eldora think this situation with the D.A. is going to

affect your probation?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. She seems to think they might add

on more time, maybe more community service.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“Yeah.” He set his backpack on the floor. “I just hope Coop

gives me another chance.”

“I think he probably wil ,” she said, gingerly pushing herself

up to a sitting position. “He seems like the kind of man

who believes in second chances.”

“Coop’s a good man, isn’t he?”

“I think so, yes.”

“Do you think that Dad was a good man?”

Carlotta took her time answering. “I think there were

some things about Dad that were very good. He was

handsome and popular and he was good at his job. He

made people laugh. He made people feel good.”

“But it’s not the same.” Now that he knew their dad

cheated on their mom, Wes was starting to question a lot

of things. If Randolph could justify his affair with Liz,

maybe he could do the same for filching a few dol ars from

the firm.

“Is something on your mind?” Carlotta asked.

“I’m just starting to think that you were right—that our

father is no good and has no intention of coming back to

clear his name.”

“I never said he was no good.”

“No, but it’s what you’ve always thought, and I don’t