Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds (16 page)

“How do you know all of this?”

“I have my sources. Oh, and he plans to drop off the ransom money somewhere at three today. I don’t know where, though. I suspect his friends are supposed to be the ones who grab it.”

He paused. “Why should I trust you?”

“If you Google my name, you’ll see I have some credentials. But please don’t waste time doing that now. I’m afraid Jackie will be hurt.”

He was silent for another moment. “I’ll look into it.”

“Thank you.”

I hung up and joined Riley’s friends again. Now I’d just wait. I’d done my duty. I turned it over to the police and relinquished myself of any more investigating.

My conscience could be clear.

***

I dropped the maid uniform and key back off with Shirley and was walking to my room when someone called my name from behind.

I pivoted and glanced behind me. Jackie’s mom. She wrung her hands together and her eyebrows formed a V on her forehead. The poor lady. I couldn’t even imagine.

I paused and nodded toward my door. “Let’s go inside.”

She caught up with me as I slid my card into the slot. Tension stretched through her voice. “What was that about up there earlier?”

“I didn’t know Clint was there. I didn’t want him to hear,” I whispered.

My door made that gentle buzzing sound to let me know my card had worked. I twisted the handle and pushed it open. Jackie’s mom followed me inside.

With the door locked, and Jackie’s mom staring at me like a lunatic, I began to pace. Just like any good lunatic would.

Mrs. Harrington’s hands twisted together, ever so subtly. She didn’t bother to sit or to even move for that matter. She just stood there by the door, staring at me, her only sign of anxiety those fingers that rubbed together. “Why didn’t you want Clint to hear?”

“Can we sit down?” I walked toward the couch and hoped she’d follow. She did. I sat on one end, and she sat on the other. I wished I had something to offer her to drink, but I had nothing but a half empty bottle of Mountain Dew. “Tell me about Clint.”

Jackie’s mom shrugged, her face vacant in a way that only grief and stress could be responsible for. Even her voice lacked a lot of emotion. It simply sounded raw from too many hours crying. “What about him? I certainly don’t think he’s good enough for my daughter, nor do I feel he’s equipped to handle the family’s money. Jackie’s our only daughter. The estate will go to her when I’m gone one day.”

“Did you tell Clint that?”

“In so many words, I suppose.”

“Do you think your daughter loves him?”

Her fuchsia-colored lips twisted into a frown. “Yes, I do think she loves him. But I think there’s more to love than feelings of infatuation. You have to take a multitude of things into consideration, and I don’t think she realized that.”

Riley and I had talked about that a lot, how we couldn’t base our relationship just on our emotions or our attraction to each other. Truth be told, I would have probably never thought about it had Riley not brought it up. My past dating record proved it. “How about Clint? Do you think he loves your daughter?”

Mrs. Harrington’s eyebrows twitched. “What are you getting at?”

“I’m still trying to put all of the pieces together. I know the questions may not make sense, but I have to ask them.” I swallowed, softening my gaze when I saw a touch of moisture in the woman’s eyes. “Do you think he loves her?”

She nodded curtly, quickly, but her neck muscles looked strained. “He certainly appears to.”

I shifted in my seat, trying to put everything together in my mind, all the while attempting to figure out the best way to approach this whole situation without sending her grief over the edge. “Do you know where Clint is taking the money?”

“It’s a different trail this time than last. I only hope this whole drop off doesn’t get messed up on the second go around. If it does, they threatened to … ” A tear rolled down her cheek. “They threatened to kill Jacqueline if we messed up again.”

I sat up straighter. “So the kidnappers were in touch again?”

“That’s right. They called my phone. I couldn’t recognize any voices. They were all muffled. I thought maybe there would be a clue or something.” She waved her head back and forth, her chin trembling. “I couldn’t figure out anything.”

“Did you tell the police that?”

“No, Clint insisted it was better this way. It’s so hard to know what to do.”

I tapped my finger against the couch. Of course Clint had insisted that they not tell the police. That would have gotten in the way with his plan. I wondered if Mrs. Harrington had been introduced to Clint’s sidekicks. They could be playing an important role in all of this. “Have you met Clint’s friends that came to town?”

She frowned, obviously not approving of his buddies. “Once.”

“Where are they staying? Did Clint say?”

She raised a shoulder, flicking a piece of fuzz from her arm as she did. “They rented a cabin somewhere. Now, what’s this all about?”

I sucked in a deep breath before unloading the words that would rock her world. “Mrs. Harrington, I think Clint may be after your money.”

CHAPTER 21

After the Attorneys’ Conference was over for the day, Riley met me back in my room. Thankfully, Veronica wasn’t there. We had a few minutes to kill before we met the rest of the gang up in Derek’s suite.

Riley tried to tell me a few things about the conference and all that he’d learned today. My mind was in another world, though. I was thinking about Clint and Jackie and money.

Had Clint arranged for his friends to kidnap Jackie just so he could get money out of her? Was that the primary reason he’d dated her in the first place? Perhaps their whole relationship was just an elaborate scheme to get rich.

I played it out in my mind. Clint meets Jackie. Realizes she’s loaded. Figures out he could use a relationship with her to his advantage. Maybe his first plan was to marry her and get her money that way. Then he found out that Jackie wouldn’t get any of her money if she married him. Then he’d come up with an alternative plan.

Kidnap her. Demand a ransom. Run away with someone else.

Riley rubbed my shoulders as I stared off into space, letting everything sink in. “You want to talk?”

I glanced up at that hideous picture of Delores Allen. “I’m thinking about people’s heritages, I suppose.”

“What about it?”

I nodded toward that painting. “Think about it. The Allen family has a heritage of starting this world-class resort. In their day, they were practically celebrities as they mingled with the affluent here at Allendale. Then there’s Jackie. Jackie has this heritage of wealth. Her family who could buy their way into whatever they wanted. She’s never wanted for anything. Whenever people hear ‘Harrington Enterprises,’ they think of Jackie.”

“Look where their heritages took them? The Allens were disgraced when they lost the resort. Jackie has had numerous struggles, mostly because of her money.”

I glanced at him. “Then there’s my heritage. My dad was a drunk. My mom was too exhausted to shave her legs half of the time. How would things have been different for me if I’d grown up without my struggles? What if I’d grown up in a middle class neighborhood with a mom and dad who loved each other, with a brother who hadn’t been kidnapped? What if I hadn’t had to drop out of college?”

“Our struggles help to make us who we are. We may have never met if you’d grown up in the way you just mentioned. It’s best if we don’t toy around with the ‘what ifs’ in life. We can’t change our past.”

His words were true. There was no changing things that happened yesterday. We just had to make the most of today.

Riley squeezed my hand. “Besides, you have a great heritage now. You have a spiritual heritage. Your spiritual heritage is one of faith, sacrifice, courage.”

I nodded. I hadn’t thought about that before, but it was true. When I became a Christian, I became a new person. My slate was wiped clean. There weren’t many occasions you could say that in life.

Riley tugged me to my feet. “Want to skip out on my friends tonight?”

I shook my head. The idea was tempting. Very tempting.

But Riley had come here to see his friends, and that’s what we should do. I could tune out the conversation once we met them and mull over my theories for longer, if I had to.

“I think they need someone to keep them straight. I designate you.”

Riley smiled, but there was something sad behind his grin. My curiosity pricked again. When was he going to tell me whatever it was that was on his mind?

Soon, I hoped. Because curiosity killed the cat.

And I was pretty sure that would be my cause of death one day, as well.

***

Everyone gathered in Derek’s room. Derek’s suite must have been the
crème de la crème
of the Allendale. He had a full kitchen, a massive living room with a pool table and a hot tub, a huge balcony, and three bedrooms.

Everyone else—including Riley—seemed perfectly content to unwind with a movie blaring on the TV. Derek had apparently had some food catered because there were trays of fancy cheeses and crackers and fruit placed strategically around the room. Jack the Dipper stood over the veggie tray.

I kept an eye on him. Sure enough, he was up to his old ways.

While Riley chatted near the balcony with Lillian, I paced around, turning thoughts over and over in my mind. But turn is all I could do. My thoughts wouldn’t rest or be still or even attempt to settle down.

Nor could I. I couldn’t stay still. I just kept wondering what was going on. I wanted to be in the action. But I was trying to respect Riley’s wishes and not let a guilty conscience get the best of me.

The rest of the gang was talking about the workshops they’d attended that day when Derek came into the room.

“Did you guys hear?” Derek asked.

He had four beer bottles tucked into the spaces between his fingers, and his hands were on his hips. His shirt was untucked in a trendy sort of way and he wore expensive jeans. No, I didn’t recognize the label. But I already knew what kind of person Derek was, and he was the type who liked the best of everything. His job as a malpractice attorney must pay really well.

“Hear what?” Veronica stepped closer, a glass of wine in one hand, and her other arm was slung fashionably over her waist.

“You guys are never going to believe this. The police arrested Clint.” Derek’s eyebrows were suspended in the air, and I could tell he was proud of himself that he’d been the one to break the news.

“What do you mean the police arrested Clint?” Riley joined me. I was standing the closest to Derek at a couch near the door.

Derek shook his head, his voice alive with excitement. He probably fed on stuff like this. “He set up the whole kidnapping. He left the ransom note. He got his cousins to help with the whole thing. It was all about the money. Apparently this guy already had a rap sheet. I can’t believe Jackie even gave him a second glance.”

Lillian fell back into the couch, her face white, and her eyes fluttering. “Poor Jackie. She’s always been worried about people using her just for her money and now this.” She glanced back at Derek. “Is she okay?”

“Apparently the police are searching for her now,” Derek said. “They’re hoping that Clint will give up her location now that there’s nothing to hide.”

Derek was a malpractice attorney. He had to know there was
always
something to hide. Always.

“How did you find all of this out?” Lane asked. His hands were on his hips, his forehead wrinkled, his jaw tight. Out of everyone in the group, he looked the most worried. Could that be because he still had feelings for Jackie? Or was I reading too much into it?

Derek finally set some of the beer bottles down on an antique-looking table. He shoved a silk flower arrangement out of the way like it was a piece of trash. “One of the valets told me. Apparently the police got an anonymous tip that led them to the arrest.”

I held my breath. I dared not look at Riley and risk giving away something. Instead, I nodded. “That’s great news.”

Derek froze for a moment before a huge grin stretched across his face and he jumped on one of the couches. “I’d say so. As soon as the police find Jackie, we can officially party without guilt. No more of this walking around subdued and respectful. We came here to have fun, and now we can finally do it!”

“Derek, you’re a pig,” Lillian muttered. She waved a hand in the air as if to brush him off.

Derek ignored her and addressed the rest of the group. “So, tomorrow I say we go four-wheeling and hang out in the hot tub. We get our party on.”

“Oh, come on, man. We know you’ve been hanging out at the hot tub all week anyway,” Lane muttered. Was that a glimmer of admiration in his eyes? “We’ve all noticed how you’re skipping the workshops.”

“There are advantages to being your own boss.” Derek shrugged, looking full of himself with that grin across his face. The words “full of himself” and “Derek” seemed to go hand in hand. This guy was a piece of work. His Light Bright teeth glowed at anyone looking his way. “You know me well, friend. You know me well. After we go four-wheeling, we can go hiking or maybe rent one of those Segways, maybe hit a bar or two wherever we can find one.”

Lane remained silent. I was sure he would object, that he’d have some class.

Instead, he raised his beer. “Sounds like a plan to me!”

Riley and I looked at each other but said nothing. How would we get out of those plans without looking holier-than-thou? I wasn’t sure.

“But for tonight … ” Derek ripped off his shirt. “We’re having a toga party!”

I had to look away from the spectacle called Derek. Perhaps his first dream had been to be a Chippendales dancer? I could only imagine what the man’s commercials were like.

As someone cranked up the music, Riley pulled me back toward the door. “I’m sorry.”

I was amused, and I couldn’t hide it. “Toga party?”

He shrugged, glancing back at his friends. “Reliving the glory days from college. You know, back before there were responsibilities.”