The Devil Within (Devil Series Book 3) (11 page)

“Since when is my money no good here?”

“Since now.” The cashier smiled again.

The sacker had the same wide-eyed expression and smile.

“Now this is creepy,” Alexis said. “And it feels a bit Stepford wife-ish. What the hell’s going on? First Kevin is followed by some strange man and now this? Penelope, are we in
The Twilight Zone?
”

She opened the gum and popped it into her mouth. “Are you seriously arguing because someone won’t let you pay for your groceries?”

“I’m supposed to
pay.
” Alexis got in front of the other customer. “Excuse me,” she addressed the cashier. “I demand you let me pay for these groceries.”

“I’ve been ordered not to, ma’am.”

“What?” Alexis looked around. “Are you crazy or is it me?”

The cashier grinned. “Have a nice day Detective—”

“I want to speak to your manager.” Alexis leaned to the side. “Right now.”

The cashier summoned the manager through the microphone.

“I can’t believe you’re causing a scene because they won’t let you pay for your groceries,” Penelope whispered. “You’re crazy.”

“Don’t tell me I’m crazy.” Alexis moved as the other customer left. “This stinks like rotten eggs.”

The short, female manager with the wide hips waddled up. “Hello, Detective Adams. Is there a problem?”

“Yes.” She pointed to the cashier. “She won’t let me pay for my groceries and I demand to pay.”

“Oh.” The manager giggled. “You don’t have to pay. It’s on us. It’s all right.”

“No.”
Alexis clenched her teeth. “I
want
to pay for my groceries because I’m supposed to. Are you actually refusing to let me pay for my groceries?”

“Detective Adams, please.” The manager looked around. “You’re causing a scene. I don’t want to have to get security.”

“Security?” Alexis laughed. “You’re gonna kick me out because I want to pay for my groceries?”

“Please, have a good day.” The manager hurried off.

“What the…?”

“Just come on.” Penelope pulled Alexis out of the store.

“No, wait a minute.” Alexis stopped at the entrance doors. “Did what just happen…happen?”

“Yep.” Penelope chewed her gum.

“And you’re fine with it? It doesn’t seem strange to you?”

“Girl, when life throws you lemonade you need to drink it.” Penelope straightened her purse on her arm. “Let’s go to the shoe store.”

They walked toward Alexis’s car.

“Shoe store?” Alexis opened her trunk with the clicker. “We weren’t going to buy shoes.”

“I want to see if they don’t let you pay there, too.” Penelope laid her groceries in the trunk. “And it’s time for me to do my highlights again. Maybe we can swing on by the salon, too.” She touched her hair. “Shit, we need to before whatever the hell you got going on wears off.”

“Penelope, this is serious.” Alexis put her groceries in the trunk.

“I’m serious, too. You know how much those new shoes I want cost?”

“I’m not playing. I need to find out what the hell is…”

Alexis’s cell rang.

“Shit.” She wrestled with her purse and snatched out the phone. “Ah hell.”

“Who is it?”

Alexis answered, “Stop calling me.”

“Not until you agree to go out to dinner with me,” Grant said.

“I wouldn’t go out with you if you agreed to kill yourself.” Alexis slammed the trunk closed. “And you have no idea how happy that would make me.”

“Firecracker, you sound tense. Is the job getting to you?”

“Wait a minute.” She put her hand on her waist. “Are you the reason I couldn’t pay for my groceries?”

“Is that Grant?” Penelope whispered.

“I guess you can say that,” he said. “I want us to be friends and I want to show you how good it is being my friend. I know it’s hard for a single woman these days. Thought I’d take the load off. I instructed some of our local businesses to put your things on my tab.”

“How
dare
you?”

“Are you actually angry because a man wants to buy things for you?” He chuckled.

“Firecracker, you are a one of a kind woman.”

“I don’t give a damn what you do, but I won’t let you manipulate
me.
” Alexis opened the back door and threw her purse in the car. “You can tell everyone in this town not to accept my money and it won’t work. I’m not going out with you.”

“You
will
go out to dinner with me. It’s just a matter of when.”

“You’re blackmailing me? I can’t pay for stuff until I go out to dinner with you?”

“Yep.”

“Ooh!” She clicked off.

“Wait!” Penelope ran in front of Alexis. “Why did you hang up so fast? I wanted to see if I could get the hookup.”

“He makes me sick!” Alexis throw her phone in the car. “He’s not manipulating me. I don’t care if he pays my rent, car note, whatever. I’m never going out with him!” She slammed the top of her car.

Chapter Nineteen

Alexis and Penelope entered Pastor Bellows’s church the next day. They went down the hall and stopped when they heard the Pastor inside his office.

“You’re not listening to me!” Bellows shouted. “I don’t have any more money to give you. I can’t just dream some up.”

“Whose problem is that?” another man asked. “We loaned you a lot of money and you said you’d pay us back, yet we haven’t even gotten half.”

Alexis and Penelope looked at each other.

“What do you expect me to do?” Bellows asked. “I’m at the end of my rope. I can’t give you what I don’t have.”

“If we don’t get that thirty thousand from you by next week you’re gonna need more than God to get you out of this.”

The door flew open.

Alexis and Penelope jumped back.

The tall, bald man stopped in front of them. “How are you doing today, ladies?” He left.

Pastor Bellows leaned against his desk with his hand on his chest.

“Pastor.” Alexis rushed to him. “Are you okay? Is it your heart?”

Sweat beaded on his forehead. “I just…got too excited.”

“Come here.” Penelope and Alexis helped him into the chair behind his desk. “What’s going on?” Penelope asked. “Who was that guy?”

“And what did he want?” Alexis walked from behind the desk.

“It’s nothing.” Bellows took deep breaths.

“It didn’t sound like nothing to me.” Alexis crossed her arms. “Did we hear him say you owe him thirty thousand dollars?”

Penelope leaned on the desk. “Yeah, who is he?”

“It’s nothing.” He grabbed his glass of water and slurped. “Ah.” He laid his hands on the armrests of the chair. “I’m just having some financial problems. I took out a loan.” He cleared his throat. “Everything’s fine.”

“He threatened you.” Alexis pointed to the doorway. “He said you had to have thirty thousand by next week. Pastor, if this man is bothering you then—”

“I’m fine.” He held up a shaky hand. “Please leave it alone.”

Penelope stood by Alexis. “We have a new development in Alicia’s case.”

Bellows blinked. “What is it?”

“Mercy Cokes came to see us earlier,” Alexis said. “She told us that she and Nadine were with Alicia the night she was killed.”

“What?” Bellows covered his mouth. “Did they kill her?”

“Mercy claims they didn’t.” Penelope sat on the corner of his desk. “She said Alicia was very drunk and she and Nadine were going to take her home but Alicia and Nadine got into it so Nadine dropped her off not too far from where her body ended up.”

Bellows raised his thick, gray eyebrows. “You don’t believe that, do you? It’s obvious this girl is lying. She killed her.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Detective Adams…” He held his breath. “You told me before that Mercy claimed she was at work around the time Alicia was killed and now she admits she dropped her off where Alicia was found. How can you believe she’s innocent?”

“We aren’t saying we believe it,” Penelope said. “We’re saying right now we don’t have evidence to prove otherwise. Yes she lied and hid something from us, but that does not mean she killed Alicia.”

“What about Nadine?” He looked back and forth at them. “Any word on her yet?”

Alexis shook her head. “It’s like she disappeared into thin air.”

“Mercy Cokes did this.” Bellows stood. “Alicia was my little girl, so I feel it.” He burst into tears. “You can’t let her get away with this.”

“If Mercy killed Alicia, we’ll get her,” Alexis said. “We promise you.”

* * * *

“Yes, what Mercy said is true.” Angel grabbed a bottle of water from the mat of the boxing ring. “The day Alicia died she, Nadine, and Mercy were at my place hanging out.” He opened the bottle. “Alicia could be hell when she drank, and the fact that she was drinking while pregnant was ridiculous.” He sipped from the bottle. “We got into it when she started mouthing off about going to Los Angeles to work with some supposed big time trainer.” He rolled his eyes.

“So all that stuff about you working with a woman named Holly that evening was a lie?” Penelope asked.

“I lied because I was scared. I knew if I said I’d been with Alicia it would look bad.”

Alexis snickered. “And you think lying and covering it up makes you look better?”

“I bet it pissed you off that Alicia wanted to work with another trainer,” Penelope said.

“I was pissed.” He nodded. “But in the end I only want what’s best for those girls. I care about them and I want them to succeed.”

“I believe you care,” Alexis said. “You had Nadine go back and get Alicia because you were concerned with her safety.” She lifted her finger. “I’m not saying you’re innocent, but that shows you care.”

“I am innocent.” He screwed the top back on the bottle. “I didn’t kill Alicia. I swear. Instead of thinking I did it because she wanted to go to LA, maybe money was the motive.”

“Money?” Penelope asked.

“Yeah. You do know about Alicia’s inheritance right?”

Alexis looked at Penelope. “No.”

“You mean no one’s told you?” Angel set the bottle down. “Alicia got twenty thousand dollars when her mother passed.” He put his hands in the pockets of his sweats. “She was trying to save it but she kept dipping into it because of her dad.”

Alexis rocked on her heels.

“He has debt on top of debt.” Angel sat down. “He was always asking Alicia to borrow money and she was sick of it.”

Alexis and Penelope exchanged glances.

“That’s why she was so pissed that day,” Angel said. “He kept calling every five minutes. She’d already given him ten thousand dollars.”

“Wow,” Alexis whispered.

“But he’s so far in the hole that didn’t even help. So I figure…” Angel crossed his arms.

“Maybe someone killed her because they knew she had that money. She knew many folks with financial issues.”

“Like her lover Omar Silva?” Penelope glanced at Alexis.

Angel nodded. “I’m not trying to point fingers, but he was the first one who popped in my head when I found out she was murdered. Alicia always talked about how bad his finances are. Mercy says that’s why he wants to get back with his wife.”

“How could Omar get her money even if he did kill her?” Alexis asked. “He couldn’t just walk into the bank and ask for it unless they had joint accounts or something.”

“Alicia didn’t keep money in the bank,” Angel said. “She didn’t trust banks. She kept that money in a safe at her house. I’m sure Omar knew that, being her lover.”

“Well.” Alexis gaped. “I think we need to pay Mr. Silva another visit.”

Penelope’s cell went off. She got it from her pocket and answered, “Dao here.” She glanced at Alexis. “Are you sure? Damn.” She closed her eyes. “That’s too bad. Okay, we’ll be there ASAP. All right, bye.” She clicked off. “They just found Nadine Williams’s body.”

“Jesus.” The color drained from Angel’s cheeks. “Are…are they sure?”

Penelope put her phone up. “Her van was found in a scrap yard. The owner hadn’t been there in weeks. He arrived today and noticed a foul odor. He saw the strange van and Nadine was in the front seat. Someone beat her to death.”

Chapter Twenty

Eli Bellows answered Pastor Bellows’s door that night. His face dripped with sweat and he wore a dingy T-shirt and dirty Timberland boots. “Hello.” He stared at Alexis and Penelope. “I didn’t expect to see you, but I hope this means you have news.”

“Hello, Eli.” Alexis smiled.

He rubbed his hand. “Did you find out who killed Alicia?”

“Nadine Williams was found dead in a junkyard earlier today,” Penelope said.

He fell against the door. “What?”

“She’d been beaten to death like Alicia,” Alexis said.

“Jesus.” He wobbled and held the door for balance. “We prayed for Nadine to be okay. My father and I didn’t want the Williams family to go through what we’ve been going through.” A tear appeared in his eye. “Who would do this to two innocent women?”

“Where’s your father?” Penelope asked.

“He’s at the church.” He checked his watch. “He’s doing bible study tonight. He should be back in about thirty minutes or so.”

Alexis pointed inside. “What are you doing here by the way?”

“I’m cleaning the shed out back.” He pulled at his dirty shirt. “I just came in for a breather when you guys showed up.” He wiped sweat off his forehead. “Dad’s been on me for months to clean it out for him and I’ve needed something to keep my mind off Alicia—”

“Are you all right?” Penelope moved her hair out of her face.

“Sorry.” He sniffled. “I just keep thinking about her. What can I do for you?”

“We wanted to get more personal information about the family so we can make sure we know as much about Alicia as possible,” Alexis said. “We think that might help us finally come up with a substantial lead.”

“Yeah, we feel like we don’t know enough about the family,” Penelope said. “Seems like details are popping up suddenly and we want to have everything straightened out.”

“Okay.” He scratched the back of his head. “Please come in.”

They did.

He closed the door. “I’ve been doing some digging on my own to find out what might’ve happened to Alicia.” He held his waist. “I didn’t expect to come up with anything and I haven’t.”