All About the Money (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 7) (5 page)

“Maybe she’s saying all this strange junk because of the pain
killers. After what she’s been through, you know they gave her pain killers at
the hospital. They had to. They stitched up her battered body. They give you
drugs for the pain, don’t they?”

“It depends on the extent of the injuries.”

Surprised by what Billy had just said about
Savannah
’s behavior, all I had left to say
was, “Boy… is my mother going to be upset if all this is true! She’ll never get
over it.”

“Neither will
Savannah
’s
readers… her lifeline… her moneymaker.”

“It all comes down to the money. Money rules the world.”

“I guess you could say that.”

“That’s what
Savannah
told us about Andrea. She said that
Andrea had been stealing money from McCoy’s firm. Everything that happened
yesterday was about money. Am I right?”

“We’re about to find out.”

When we reached
Savannah
’s
house and pulled up in the driveway, McCoy was standing by his car, putting a
travel bag in it. He was packing up to leave.

Sirens wailed in the background.

Billy and I stared at each other with that strange look we
give each other when we know something bad has happened. We jumped out of the
truck and ran over to McCoy.

“What’s going on?” Billy asked McCoy. “You’re leaving?”

“Not just yet,” McCoy replied. “I’m waiting for the
ambulance, and then I’m leaving.
Savannah
doesn’t want me around anymore. She told me to get out and never come back. She
hates me.”

“What happened?” I questioned him. “Is she all right?”

“She attacked me, so I tried to push her away, and when I
did, she fell and hit her head. Her new friend Russell is with her. She doesn’t
need me anymore. She has him to take care of her.”

McCoy was distraught. I could hear it in his voice. His eyes
were red as if he’d been crying, and his hands were shaking something terrible.
His life and marriage were falling apart very quickly.

“I’m going in to check on her.”

“I’ll stay out here with McCoy,” Billy said. He patted McCoy
on the back and then told him, “It’s going to be all right, buddy. Everything’s
going to work out. You’ll see.”

“I doubt that, Billy,” McCoy replied. “But thanks for the pep
talk. I needed it, buddy.”

I turned, ran to the house, and stormed through the back door
as if my pants were on fire. I cried the minute I saw
Savannah
laying on the floor. She had blood
in her hair, and there was blood on the floor around her. She looked as if she
was bleeding to death.

“She’s unconscious,” Russell said as he continued to hold the
rag to her head, applying pressure to the site as he did. “She’s lost a bit of
blood, but I think it looks worse than it is.”

“I sure hope so,” I said in between my tears.

“Head wounds always bleed profusely,” he said. “Don’t worry.
The ambulance will be here soon, and they’ll take care of her.”

“What happened?”

“She slapped McCoy and then tried to jump on him. She was
furious. He tried to push her away, but they both tumbled to the floor. She hit
her head on the coffee table.”

“I can’t believe it!
Savannah
attacked him?”

“People do strange things when they get mad, and she was
furious.”

“That’s quite obvious,” I added. “I would’ve never pegged
Savannah
as a person who would freak out like
this. She’s always been so reserved.”

“As I said, people do strange things when they get angry, and
she was really angry.”

“This couldn’t have been very pleasant for you. I’m sorry you
had to be in the middle of this.”

“You mean, since you know I have a thing for
Savannah
? You can say it. It’s all right. I’m
crazy about her. I know she’s married, but I can’t help myself. But from the
way it looks here, I’d say their marriage was toast.”

“I’ve known for awhile. I saw it in your eyes the first time
you met her. Last year. Remember?”

“Yes, I remember it well.”

Russell had been visiting a client at
UVA
Hospital
when he first met
Savannah
. This was during the time of her
stalker incident. When he locked eyes with her, that’s all it took. He was
smitten. Being a man of honor, he never acted on his feelings… until now. She
needed help, and he was here to give it to her.

Savannah
groaned and tried to sit up.

“She’s coming around,” Russell said. He continued to hold her
as he told her everything was going to be all right. “Take it easy,
Savannah
. You have a nasty cut on your head.”

She looked up at me and asked, “What are you doing here,
Jesse? Where’s McCoy?”

“He’s outside,” I replied as I bent down next to her. “He’s
waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Billy’s with him.”

“You’re such a good friend.” She closed her eyes and went
limp.

I looked at Russell. He looked back at me as if to reassure
me that
Savannah
was okay.

The sirens grew louder as the Greene County Rescue Squad,
once again, pulled into the driveway of Savannah Kelley’s home. Sheriff Hudson
and three of his squad cars followed. The place was chaotic. Nobody had been
arrested, but the day was still young. Billy stood next to McCoy while they
loaded
Savannah
into the ambulance.

Everything had gone into the crapper.
Savannah
and McCoy’s marriage was most likely
over. There was probably no way to salvage it now after recent developments.
Too much water under the bridge. I felt sick to my stomach as I stood by and
just watched everything crumble. Billy and I had a relationship with
Savannah
and McCoy. It started out as a case
by accident, and then turned into a friendship. We shared time together. We’ve
been through a lot.

The press began to show up in full force in a very short
period of time. It was as if someone had been watching, and then alerted the
media.
Savannah
was being carted off to the
hospital—for the second time in two days… followed by her lawyer… not her
husband. Gossip heaven.  Not only was she a celebrity, but she was a celebrity
with criminal activity going on in her life. And, so far, I was the only one who
knew about Russell’s infatuation with
Savannah
.
That little tidbit alone would add another gallon of gasoline to an already
burning inferno.

All local channels were running a live feed of the scene.
Within minutes, channels from
Richmond
, Henrico, and the Tidewater areas
showed up. This was big news. It was all the sheriff could do to keep the press
at bay. Finally, in a desperate attempt to clear the area, he ordered his men
to physically push them back if necessary, and then close the gates.

An hour later, the area had been cleared of the press, and
the gates to
Savannah
’s home had been opened to let us
out. McCoy was not detained—he was going to the hospital to check on his wife.
Billy and I left to go visit Flo. We had done all we could do for them now.

Mom called me on my cell phone to tell me about
Savannah
being on the news. She said she was
watching everything play out on live TV. Eddie’s plane was late, so she was
sitting at the airport waiting on him. She wanted the real details from me.

“You can’t trust the press,” she said. “We know they get
things all mixed up. They never get the whole truth.”

“I haven’t seen the news,” I told her.

“But you were there. What happened?”

“McCoy showed up, and then
Savannah
attacked him.”

“What? You can’t be serious, Jesse. That little thing
attacked McCoy? I find that hard to believe. He’s a big guy and she’s so small.
She wouldn’t stand a chance against him. What was she thinking?”

“Believe it, Mom. She…”

“Oh, Eddie’s plane just landed,” she interrupted me. “I have
to go. I’ll call you later.” She ended the call.

I looked at my cell phone, and then turned to Billy and said,
“She hung up on me. Eddie’s plane was delayed, but it just landed. She’d been
waiting on him when she saw the news about
Savannah
,
so she called me because she wanted the real dirt. She knows how the press is.”

“She’ll call back. I bet she’ll have a lot of questions for
you. She’ll want to know everything.”

We continued on Rt. 33 until we reached the turnoff onto
Coyote Road
. When we were just a few houses away
from Flo’s office, Billy said, “Don’t be surprised if you feel strange when you
see the place. It’s going to bring back memories and sad feelings.”

“You mean, because of the fire at Jonathan’s place?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve thought about that.” I hesitated for just a second, and
then confidently said, “I think I can handle it. Besides, Jonathan has rebuilt
his house. It’s not too sad anymore.”

“I just wanted to warn you.”

“I’m going to be okay.”

Billy spoke the truth. The scene at Flo’s burned-out office
was depressing. All I expected to see was a pile of rubble, but instead, I saw
the destruction of a part of someone’s life. I felt sad and angry—angry at the
person who did this.

Mom had once told me that Flo’s office used to be her
residence. Flo and her husband bought the house right after they got married.
She started doing tax returns, made a lot of money, and then they bought a
bigger house. The house on
Coyote
Road
was paid for, so
they kept it and turned it into her place of business.

The sign out by the road that advertised her business was the
only thing left unscathed by the fire. The spot where the house once stood had
been replaced by a pile of blackened rubble. All that was left of what used to
be a kitchen was a charred refrigerator and sink. A bathroom toilet and claw
foot bathtub lay close by. Several feet to the right, three metal filing
cabinets lay twisted and distorted from the intense heat. Everything else was
unrecognizable debris.

We sifted through the ashes, looking for any clue that would
help us determine who might’ve done this and why, but it was useless. It was
obvious the place had burned up rather quickly. The heat must’ve been extremely
intense. It reminded me of the time Jonathan’s house went up in flames.
Everything was black and smelled awful. Even the grass around the place was
burned to a crisp.

“Gasoline,” Billy mumbled. “Whoever did this used gasoline.”

“How can you tell?”

“From the intense heat. When you use gas or a flammable
liquid, it goes up in a flash.” Billy scanned the scene. He walked over to a
pile of black rubble and kicked it with his foot. Then he bent down and picked
up a clump of something hard. He held it out for me to see.

“What’s that?”

“Plastic. When plastic cools what’s left turns into a hard
mass.”

“You’re so smart.”

He walked around, bending down occasionally to pick up
something.

“Find anything important?”

“Nothing, but then arson isn’t my expertise.”

“I don’t know the first thing about sifting through the
remains of a fire. I don’t know what’s what. All I know is that it smells
awful, and it’s nasty. And it’s so sad to lose everything like this.”

“An arson investigator can go into a fire zone and tell you
exactly how it started, because it doesn’t take long for them to figure it
out.”

“I’m not an arson investigator. Perhaps we should talk with
him.”

“Why bother? We know the place was torched. It wasn’t an
accidental fire. All we need to do is find out who set the fire.”

“Why don’t we just go over to Downer Rhodes’ house and ask
him?”

I tried to block out the sight of Flo’s burned down house. I
wanted to talk about something that would take the place of the images in my
head… if only for a little while.

As we climbed back into Billy’s truck and started heading
out, I turned to him and asked, “What kind of name is Downer? I’d really like
to know why his parents named him that. Was it because they were bummed out to
have him? Was he unplanned… a disappointment... an albatross?” I chuckled.

“That’s not his real name. It’s a nickname he acquired in
college.”

“Why? Because he was a downer to be around?” I laughed again.

“Pretty much. His friends gave him that name because he
refused to smoke pot or party with them. His given name is Donald. They called
him Donald the downer. Eventually, they dropped the Donald and just called him
Downer.”

“He was straight-laced,” I retorted. “How did you find out
that?”

“At one time, he shared a dorm room with Bart Lexington, one
of Jonathan’s friends. Bart told him that Downer dated a girl named Jacque in
college, and when she broke up with him, someone set fire to a trash can in her
dorm room. Luckily, she returned in time to put it out before it could spread.
Bart asked Downer if he knew anything about it, but Downer denied having any
knowledge of what happened to his ex-girlfriend. Bart didn’t believe him, but
there was nothing he could do. He didn’t have any proof, and Downer had an
alibi. He claimed to be with someone else at the time. Bart also said that
Downer made a reference about the fire being a message, and that Jacque should
heed it. She should’ve never broken up with him.”

“Downer likes to send messages.”

“Apparently. Bart said he would’ve never thought anything
about the message comment, except that he remembered a harmless stunt they
pulled awhile back, and it was Downer who said they were doing it to send a
message.”

“Flo might be on to something. The break-in at her office,
and then the fire—maybe Downer is sending her a message.”

“My thoughts exactly.” 

“Let’s go visit our firebug.”

“All in good time, my dear,” Billy replied. “All in good
time.”

Flo and Mick Garner’s house was located in the new South
River Estates housing development on Rt. 230, just a few miles from her office.
It was a huge three story house with lots of windows. The double front door led
to a foyer the size of a master bedroom, and from there, it got even better.
The winding staircase to the right looked like something one would see in the
movies. I found it hard to relate to the idea of a small, demure woman such as
Flo, living in a house that was so ostentatious. She didn’t seem like the type
who liked overdone things that were meant to impress people, especially when it
came to her home. I pictured her as an easygoing woman, living in a cabin in
the woods, plowing a garden, and feeding chickens. She was too much of an
everyday person to live in such grandiose surroundings. But here she was. That
just goes to show that not everything is as it seems.

When we arrived at Flo’s, everyone was in an uproar. Flo
paced back and forth while ranting about Sheriff Hudson. She was amazed that he
could even tie his shoe laces, and seriously doubted that he knew how. Her
husband, Mick, followed her about, trying to get her to calm down.

“Her blood pressure is probably off the charts,” Mick said.
He shook hands with Billy and then me. “Come on in. I’m so glad you two are
here. Maybe you can calm her down. She’s going to have a stroke if she doesn’t
settle down. She’s so upset, she’s losing it. Look at her!”

Flo walked over, gave me a hug and said, “I’m sorry I’m
behaving so badly, but I’m just so mad at Sheriff Hudson. He can be such a
twit. Would you like a drink?”

“Ah… no, not right now,” I replied, wondering what kind of
drink she was talking about… but wouldn’t ask. It was only
midday
. She surely didn’t mean anything alcoholic, did she?

She gave me the guided tour, talking the whole time. Billy
and Mick followed behind us, listening, and saying very little. Flo didn’t give
any of us a chance to say much. Once she started talking, that was it. Rarely,
did she stop to take a breath.

“We built this house with the intention of giving it to our
daughter,” Flo said as she showed us the living room, and then her exceptional
kitchen. “You remember
Gone with the Wind
, don’t you?” She didn’t wait
for an answer. “Well… Darby loved Tara Plantation as a child. She said she
wanted a house just like that when she got older. We don’t have the columns out
front on the porch, and if you take out all the outlandish windows, she’s got
her
Tara
. She goes to
James
Madison
University
over in
Harrisonburg
. Did you know that, Jesse?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“We’re building a much smaller house on
Entry Run Road
not far from here. Once she
graduates, she gets this house. Boy, will I be glad! This place is way too big
for Mick and me.”

Our next stop was the guest bathroom… then an office… family
room…den, another bathroom… a video room the size of a small arcade, and
finally the last room on the first floor. They had a massive library that could
very well make anyone envious. I know it did me. Desks, tables, two sofas, and
two overstuffed chairs were on the left, and to the right was computer heaven.

“Wow!” I said, looking around. “This is impressive!”

Flo walked over to a computer, pointed at it and said,
“Everything I had on my computers at work is backed up right here.” She pointed
to a painting of Thomas Jefferson on the wall. “Behind that painting is a safe,
and in that safe is another back up unit that stores my stuff the minute I hit
Save. So, you see, I didn’t lose any of my data in the fire.” She turned around
and looked at her husband. “I bet that rat fink Downer Rhodes doesn’t know
that! Ha! Ha! The joke’s on him!”

“Flo, I told you to stop calling him that! It sure would be
embarrassing if you slipped and called him that at a party.”

Flo’s face turned red. She marched over to Mick, shook her
finger at him, and then said angrily, “If you think I’m going to socialize with
that killer ever again, you’re sadly mistaken. He killed his partner, and he
burned down my business!”

“You don’t know that for sure, honey.” Mick was quickly
backtracking. He knew not to argue with his wife when she was mad. He looked at
us. “See… this is how she gets now when she talks about Mr. Rhodes.”

“Mr. Rhodes!” she hissed. “Don’t call him Mister. He doesn’t
deserve the title. He should be called Killer Rhodes! He’s a madman!”

I chuckled.

Billy and Mick both shot me an unhappy look.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Please don’t encourage her,” Mick pleaded. “She’ll never
shut up.”

That comment set Flo off. She paced back and forth as she
made derogatory comments about the man she had come to despise. Her voice got
louder, quickly.

“Stop!” I said as I stepped out in front of her. “Don’t let
this man win, Flo. If you drop dead from a heart attack, he will. If he really
is out to kill you, you’ll be doing him a favor.”

She stopped and thought for a minute before saying, “You’re
absolutely right, Jesse. I refuse to give him the satisfaction. You get me some
evidence on him. I want him to burn just like my house.”

“We’ll do a little checking,” Billy said. “I want to see what
the sheriff has, and then we’ll talk with the arson investigator. We should
know more by the end of the day.”

“Don’t count on them to get to the truth,” Flo said. “The
sheriff’s in the dark and that arson investigator can only tell you how the
fire started—not who started it.”

“We’ll see,” Billy offered. “I know both men quite well, and
I can promise you that they are very good at what they do. Together, we’ll get
to the truth. I can promise you that.”

“I guess you’re right,” Flo agreed softly as if she was going
to choke up. “Sheriff Hudson is a good man. He does the best he can, and he
does it by the book. I don’t know the other fellow, but if you say he’s good
then I believe you. That’s why I hired you in the first place. Minnie was
right—I feel as if I can count on you two. I don’t care what it costs. I want
you to stop Downer Rhodes from killing me. I want to live long enough to have
grandchildren.” A few tears slid down her face, and then she regained her
composure.

I felt sorry for her… and I felt sorry for Mick. He had to
watch his wife live in fear.

“I haven’t told you about my plan,” Flo said as she proceeded
to tell us. “I want you to bug Downer’s house. I’ll call him after the bugs are
in place, and tell him that I know his little secret. Then we can sit back and
listen to what he has to say after I hang up. If he’s guilty, we’ll hear it
all.”

Billy and I looked at each other. What she was asking us to
do was against the law, but not something we hadn’t done before. Sometimes you
have to sidestep the rules to flush out the guilty.

Mick put his arms around his wife’s shoulders and said, “We
have only one problem with Flo’s plan. If we pay you to break into Downer’s
house and you get caught, will we go to jail? I mean, it’s the same thing as
paying someone to kill someone, isn’t it?”

“Murder for hire doesn’t carry the same penalty as hiring
someone to break into a place,” Billy replied. “But you don’t have to worry
about that. If we decide to do this and get caught, we’re on our own. We would
not give you up. You have my word on that.”

“You don’t have to worry about us getting caught,” I added.
“This is what we do for a living, and we’re good at it.”

“That’s what your mama says.”

“You told her about your plan?” Billy asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Don’t tell anyone else. The more people who know about what
we’re planning to do, the better the chance is for us to get caught.”

“Does that mean you’re going to do it?” Mick asked.

Before Billy had a chance to answer his question, Flo took me
by the arm and started heading to the foyer. She was silent the whole way, but
I could feel her shake. Once we got to the front door, she stopped and said, “I
guess you don’t want to see the upstairs, do you? I’ve been such a bad host.”

“No… no, you haven’t,” I said. “You’ve been a very good host.
Thank you for showing us your house. It’s lovely… very nice. Maybe we can see
the rest of it next time.”

“We have a few more stops to make before the end of the day,”
Billy added. “And the day keeps going, whether or not we do.”

“I know just what you mean,” Flo replied with a smile.
“Please call me as soon as you find out anything.” She looked at Mick. “Did you
tell Billy about the security we hired?”

“He knows. I told him on the phone.”

“When will they be here?” I asked.

“They should be here soon,” Flo replied, looking at her
watch. “We called them first thing this morning, and they promised the detail
would arrive by
one
o’clock
.”

“We’ll have two men on guard around the clock,” Mick added.
“There will also be a woman bodyguard for Flo.”

“Yep, she’ll go everywhere with me… and she carries a gun.”

“Good,” I said. “I won’t have to worry about you. A bodyguard
is the best thing you can have. She’ll make sure that no one gets close to
you.”

“We have work to do,” Billy said. “We’ll be leaving now, but
you’ll hear from us by the end of the day. I’ll let you know what we’re going
to do. If we have to break into Downer’s house, we will.”

Flo looked at Billy and said, “A word of advice—don’t rely on
the cops. They’ll let you down every time. Find the person who burned down my
office, and then I might be able to sleep at night.”

Billy and I turned to leave, but Flo had one last question
for us.

“What will you do if you find out that Downer Rhodes is behind
this?”

“With enough evidence, he’ll go to jail,” Billy replied.

“Don’t bet on it,” Flo said. “People like him never do time.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, wondering if she was headed
somewhere with her question.

“If he gets caught and doesn’t go to jail, he’ll still be a
threat. I want that threat eliminated. I don’t care what it takes.”

Billy and I looked at each other, and then Billy said, “The
only thing we do is catch the bad guy. We don’t set the punishment.”

“I didn’t mean that I wanted you to harm him,” Flo said with
a chuckle. “All I meant was that I want you to make sure the evidence you get
is enough to send him to jail. Something rock solid.”

“That’s why we have to examine all our options,” Billy
replied. “I’ll think about your plan, and see what I can come up with.”

Billy and I waved as we walked out the door and headed to the
truck.

“That was strange,” I said as I climbed up into the passenger
seat. “I thought she wanted us to snuff him out. Murder-for-hire isn’t part of
my job description.”

“She’s scared and probably afraid this will never end until
either she’s dead, or he is. She made it clear that she wasn’t asking us to do
away with him.”