Dead in the Water (Kate Ryan Mysteries Book 10) (2 page)

“We heard you the first time. Do you want her to?” Hannah reminded me of my therapist from years ago, which reminded me that my heart was still racing.

“No, I don’t.”

“I’m confused,” Costello said. “Cut to the chase, Ryan.”

“All right.” I sighed and leaned against Hannah’s desk, summoning all my resolve. “This idea has been running through my mind for weeks now.”

“Oh, dear,” Hannah said. “Are you in much pain?”

Costello hid her laughter in a quiet cough. “What idea?” she asked, playfully glaring at Hannah.

I winced and closed my eyes. “Asking her to marry me.” It worried me that it sounded more like a question than a confident declaration. When neither of them said a word, I cautiously opened one eye.

“What did you say?” Hannah asked.

“Do I have to repeat it?” I groaned and rubbed my face.

“Well, you’ll have to at some point.” Hannah smiled then. “So you’re serious.”

Costello jumped up and pulled me into a monstrous hug. “I think it’s a grand idea, Ryan. And about time.”

I laughed, though I was sick to my stomach. Hannah walked over to me; she pulled me down and kissed my cheek.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Hannah’s blue eyes sparkled with happy tears. “Margaret is a lucky woman.”

“Oh, please. Let’s not get into who’s luckier here,” I said.

“So what’s next?” Costello asked.

“I have no idea. I haven’t gotten that far yet. I-I’ve never said this out loud. I think I’m going to puke.”

“Ah, true love. Makes one vomit,” Hannah said with delight. “You, of course, know I’m going to plan the wedding.”

“Um…”

“A church wedding? I wonder if I can get you into Holy Name Cathedral downtown.”

“Uh…”

“I’ll need my magazines.”

“Um…”

“What?” Hannah looked horrified. “You can’t possibly ask me not to help.”

“God! Of course not. Of course, I need your help. Are you kidding? I have absolutely no idea what to do. We just need to take it slow, okay?”

“I understand. Of course, we will. No vomiting. I promise,” Hannah assured me.

“And…and no cathedrals.”

“Of course, dear. For now.”

“Hannah…”

“Not to worry. Let’s start slow with the basics,” she said succinctly. “Have you gotten the ring?”

“The ring?” I ignored Costello’s barking laugh. “Um…”

Hannah smiled through her incredulity. “You have to get Margaret an engagement ring. Because, well, because you’re getting engaged,” Hannah said still slowly, but I could tell she wanted to strangle me.

“Can’t I just cut out the middleman and get her a wedding ring? I mean, she’s wearing my class ring now. And she said she doesn’t want to take it off.” I was so hopeful and so nauseated…

Hannah just stared at me like she was in a trance, with her mouth hanging open. She then shook her head. “I-I’m sorry, dear. What did you say?”

I let out a deep sigh. “Nothing. You’ll have to go with me, of course.”

“Naturally,” Hannah said. “And not to worry. You know Margaret. She’s not one for a lot of flash. Simple but elegant.”

“Exactly. That’s why I thought—”

“No,” Hannah said, cutting me off with her warning voice. “Her engagement ring will not be your class ring from Wossamotta U. And I mean no disrespect from your alma mater.

“None taken. Although calling it Wossamotta U.—”

“Now, now, don’t take it personally. And it’s a good thing you’re not proposing to me, Kate. I’m the queen of bling, as you well know.”

“No kidding,” I said emphatically.

“No offense taken,” Hannah said with a sarcastic grin. “Okay, enough playful banter. We need to start making lists. But we mustn’t tell Margaret. You’ll want to surprise her, right?”

“R-right,” I said, feeling all control slip away. I pulled at my shirt collar. “Is it hot in here?”

Costello folded her arms across her chest and grinned. “It is not.”

“What fun we’ll have!”

Now I really wanted to throw up.

“At least we don’t have any clients to worry about right now,” Costello said. “So you can keep your mind clear. And concentrate on Maggie darlin’.”

“How many times have I told you to stop calling her that?” I asked. “But you’re right. I need a clear head for this. And while I love the business, I am glad we don’t have any—”

I was about to elaborate when the bell jingled. We all looked up to see a young man, stylishly dressed, standing in the doorway.

“Am I in the right office?” he asked.

“That depends, dear,” Hannah said kindly. “What do you need?”

“A private investigator. Kate Ryan, I believe.”

I looked at the ceiling and whispered helplessly, “Are you kidding me?”

“You’re in the right office,” Hannah said, trying not to laugh. “Can we help you?”

He tentatively walked in. “I don’t know if you can. I hope so.”

He looked exhausted, like he was on the verge of crying. Hannah suddenly looked like an owl, as she looked from him to me.

I intervened and offered the young man a chair, of course, by Hannah’s desk. The poor guy sank into the plush leather and let out a tired breath. He looked hopefully at all of us, as if he had no idea what to say next.

“I’m Kate Ryan,” I said, watching him.

“You’re the PI, right?” he asked.

“We all are, but—”

“I’m their girl Friday and not allowed to handle any firearms,” Hannah said, holding up her Montblanc bejeweled fountain pen in testament.

I could tell the poor guy didn’t know how to process that.

Hannah offered an innocent expression directed at me and whispered, “What?”

I rubbed my temple. “How can we help you?”

He seemed to collect his thoughts and his resolve for a moment. I waited patiently—not one of my strong suits, as we all well know by now.

“I don’t know if you can. Can you solve a murder?”

“Can we!” Hannah said with a confident flourish, then looked at me. “Can we?”

Are you kidding me?

Chapter 2

“Okay, let’s start over,” I said. “First, what’s your name?” I glanced at Hannah, who quickly grabbed a legal pad and her expensive fountain pen.

“Oh, sure. I’m so sorry. Phil Bledsoe. We have a mutual friend, Matt Johnson.”

“You know Matt and Jerry?” I asked.

“Matt and Jerry.” Hannah laughed quietly as she concentrated on her notes. “Always reminds me of that ice cream company,” she whispered to herself.

Not wanting to intrude on her private conversation, I ignored her.

“Yes. I, well, we actually know Jerry better. But…” He stopped as if he knew he was rambling. “I own a business right down the street from his restaurant. Matt told me I should call you. Maybe you could help.”

“I’ll try. So you mentioned a murder?” I looked at Costello, who watched Mr. Bledsoe with a skeptical eye, God love her, she was all business. I looked at Hannah, who now had a morbid gleam in her eye.

“My business partner, Chad Henson. He was shot about four months ago. The police said it was an apparent robbery.”

“I remember reading about that,” I said.

“And I’m assuming the police haven’t found the guy?” Costello asked. “Oh, sorry. Maureen Costello.” She offered her hand, which Mr. Bledsoe took.

“And this is Hannah Winfield,” I said.

Phil Bledsoe nodded to Hannah. “No firearms, right? They have absolutely no clues. No fingerprints, nothing from the shop is missing.”

“What kind of business do you own?” I asked.

“We manufacture all sorts of…” He absently pulled at his earlobe. “Tech gadgets I guess is the best way to describe it. Mostly for companies. You know robotics and infrared scanners, stuff like that. Chad and I are both scientists. We started the company about five years ago. It’s been a struggle…”

I listened to him as his voice cracked when it trailed off. We were all silent for a moment or two; the only sound was the whirring of the ceiling fan, which sounded like it was about to take off into orbit. Between that and my squeaky chair, a can of WD40 flashed through my mind.

“Why don’t you let the police do their thing, Mr. Bledsoe? I’m not sure what I can do,” I said. “If it’s an ongoing investigation.”

Phil Bledsoe looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Because it’s been too long. They’ve done their thing, and they have nothing. Now Chad is just one of those people who will get lost in the system. Another unsolved murder. And quite frankly, I’m a little scared.”

“Why are you scared?” Hannah asked.

Phil shifted nervously in his chair. “Because I don’t think it was a random robbery. And I’m worried that whoever did this will…I don’t know. Come back.”

“For what reason?” Costello asked.

“I don’t know! Why did this happen in the first place?”

“Okay, let’s take this from the top. It happened four months ago. Did you find Chad?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, trying to calm himself. “I came in later that afternoon from an appointment I had with a prospective client in Skokie. It was unbelievable.”

“The meeting with the client?” Hannah asked, looking at her notes.

“N-no,” Phil said. “Finding Chad.”

Hannah looked as if she wanted to crawl under her mahogany desk. “Oh, of course.”

“I know this is hard, Mr. Bledsoe,” I said, glaring at Hannah. “But can you tell me how you found him?”

Phil looked around to each of us. “Well, he was dead…”

I glanced at Hannah. She had one eyebrow arched as she watched him.

“No. I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I mean, where exactly?”

Hannah had gone in the back of the office and retrieved several bottles of water and doled them out.

“Oh, sure. I found him behind the counter with the metal cabinet on top of him. He was on his stomach and…” He stopped and took a long drink of water. “He was shot in the back of the head.”

“And the police found no prints. Nothing?” Costello asked.

“Nothing. They even looked at the surveillance tape. The only thing they had to go on was one customer who was in around the time Chad was killed, so they said. But whoever it was wore a hat, one of those old hats guys used to wear. You know, like in the old movies.”

“A fedora?” Hannah asked.

“Yes, that’s it. So they couldn’t make out his face at all. In the tape, he appeared to be talking to Chad, then he stepped out of the line of the camera. And there was nothing on the tape after that.” He looked at me again. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“And nothing was stolen? Do you have a cash register?” I asked.

“We have a petty cash drawer for any locals who need simple things. But mostly, we do all our work over the Internet. And there was no cash missing from the drawer. I checked our inventory, and we’re not missing one damned thing.” He sat back and sighed. “We hadn’t done a complete inventory in a while, but I know nothing is missing. So I have to ask, why? What was the reason for killing Chad? It wasn’t a robbery. They didn’t take anything. The police had no answer. I told them I didn’t think Chad had any enemies. We have no competitors, really. We’re so small.”

He slumped back farther in the chair and stared at the bottle of water. I looked from Costello to Hannah, who shrugged helplessly. Costello did the same.

“Mr. Bledsoe, I’m not sure what we can do.” I saw his deflated posture and felt bad for him. “How about this? Why don’t I take a look at your shop and the surveillance tape? Do you have them?”

“No. The police still have them, but they tell me I should get them back soon because they say there’s nothing on them that proves anything.”

“I’ll take care of that,” I said.

“We can ask a few questions in the neighborhood,” Costello offered.

I scratched the back of my neck. “Good idea. It’s curious why the police say it was a robbery if nothing was missing.”

“What else can they call it?” Costello asked. “I’m sure they investigated as much as they could and probably still are. But we know the first forty-eight hours are crucial. After that, it’s much harder to gather evidence or clues, and what’s there can become contaminated over time. And no offense, Mr. Bledsoe, but ya could be mistaken on the inventory.”

“I suppose,” he said, shaking his head.

“You say your shop is near Matt’s Café? Why don’t we go over there and check it out? Let me take a look at everything, then we’ll go from there,” I said.

“I have an appointment this morning and won’t be back until later in the afternoon. I can give you the key.”

“If you don’t mind. That would work fine.”

He fished the keys out of his pocket, then took the key off the ring. I felt bad for the guy when I saw his hand shake. “I don’t mind at all. It’s been four months. I-I’ve had the area professionally cleaned and…”

“I understand,” I said softly. “If your shop is in that neighborhood, I know the police lieutenant in that precinct. I’ll go talk to him and check out your shop. We’ll meet up with you later. Why don’t you give me a call when you’re in the area? We can surely go to Matt’s,” I offered. “What’s the address of your shop?”

Mr. Bledsoe looked so relieved I thought he might kiss me. I quickly stuck out my hand, which he took. He then pulled a business card out of his wallet.

“Thanks, I really appreciate this. I’ll pay whatever your rate is. Up front, if you want.”

I took the card and glanced at the address. “Let’s not worry about that now. I’m not sure we’ll be able to help, Mr. Bledsoe. But we can go over all that later,” I said, avoiding Hannah’s smug grin.

“Okay, thanks again.”

We all watched him as he walked by our window and disappeared down Devon Avenue.

“Well, a possible murder.” Costello let out a deep sigh. “What’s next?”

“Mayhem usually follows,” Hannah said absently.

“I mean, what do we do next?” Costello said.

“Oh.” Hannah laughed. “What’s wrong with me today?”

“Today?” I laughed when she stuck her tongue out. “I’ll go over and see Mike Kelly at the precinct. Costello, why don’t you go look around the neighborhood and ask a few questions?”

“Sounds good.” Costello nodded and glanced at the address. “I’ll find it.”

“I’ll meet you there in a little while. Call me if you find anything.”

Costello grabbed her keys. “Hold down the fort, Hannah darlin’,” she said and dashed out the door.

I picked up my keys, as well, trying not to notice Hannah’s pout.

“I’ll be in touch.”

“Fine,” she said with a deep sigh.

“Hannah…”

“No. It’s fine. I’ll be here.” She absently ran her fingers across the top of her desk. “All alone.”

I rolled my eyes and looked to the heavens. “Oh, c’mon.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” she said, with much drama as she glanced at me. “Really.”

“Hannah, I need you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. You can take notes for me. You know how my brain is.”

Hannah grinned and reached for her adorable clutch purse, I think that was what they called them. Of course, it matched the shoes.

“Can I drive?”

“Absolutely not.”

*******

Phil Bledsoe’s shop was definitely in the same neighborhood as Matt’s Café.
 
Luckily, I found a spot in front of the shop to park. “We can take a look around the shop before we talk to Mike.”

Hannah followed me as I unlocked the door and walked in.

“Looks like no one is here,” Hannah whispered behind me.

I turned around to her.

“Well, I’m just saying.” She lightly hit the back of my shoulder with her clutch and continued to follow as I walked up to the counter and peered over it. Then I looked at the surveillance camera; it was mounted on a small platform in the corner.

“Doesn’t seem to be any other cameras,” I said, glancing around. “It’s a small shop.”

I walked behind the counter; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was a metal cabinet, which was probably the one that fell on Chad Henson. It was filled with all sorts of gadgets with wires sticking out of them that I had no idea what they were for. Tech stuff was way beyond me—I still hated my cellphone. I saw the small area in the back, probably their storage. Shelves lined the walls filled with boxes along with what I assumed were machine parts, large and small.

“You know what I’m thinking?” Hannah said thoughtfully.

“Hmm?” I scanned the shelves of inventory, not knowing what I was looking for or at.

“I think Margaret would like a marquise-cut diamond.”

I stopped abruptly and turned around to face her. “What?”

“A marquise cut. It’s very elegant and…oh,” she said with a sheepish grin. “We can talk about this later.”

I felt nauseated once again. I absently rubbed my sternum.

“Tums? Would you like to stop at Walgreens or…?” Hannah asked, then cleared her throat. “Perhaps we can talk of this later, as well. Sorry…”