AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They walked two blocks farther into the quarter, then turned left down a one-way street. Nic leaned close and glanced behind us. “We’re being followed.”
“I know. It’s just Kirk. He’s been behind us since we left the shop.” I didn’t turn back since I could see the guy’s reflection in the glass window of the restaurant as I walked past. “He’s harmless.”
“I’ll tell the police that when they are investigating your death in that rat trap of a building.” Nic pointed to an arched entryway with an iron gate. “Mark lives in that building. Upstairs, in 201.”
We stepped into the entryway which led to an interior courtyard with a fountain. The temperature dropped and I could feel the coolness that the water added to the air. Sarah Stiner sat at one of the tables. When she heard our footsteps, she wiped her eyes, then hurried past us, not speaking. I turned to go after her, but Nic held me back.
“One problem at a time. Let’s see why she was here talking to Mark.”
We walked up the narrow stairway and went down the open hallway to the door with 201 on the front. Nic knocked and the door was thrown open.
“I told you to leave me alone. It’s not my fault you didn’t take care of your own future…” A small man in a Nike t-shirt with a scruff of beard stared out at them. The small living room behind him appeared to be furnished in priceless antiques from the area I could see. “Sorry, I thought you were…”
I stared at a lion bust on his foyer table, number five on the missing list, and interrupted him. “You thought we were Sarah? Why was she here?”
Mark ran his hand through his thinning hair. “She’s upset about what happened to Matty. Can you blame her? We worked together for over five years. We’re more than just co-workers.”
“Are you lovers?” Nic leaned against the doorway, looking way more casual than I knew he felt.
“What? No. We were friends.” He paused and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter now, but our friend Sarah was in love with the boss. It was hard to watch, her being so head over heels and him being totally oblivious.”
“So they weren’t a couple? It was all one sided?” I watched his face for reactions.
“Who knows. I don’t get into other people’s business.” He glanced back into the small living room. “Look, I’m job hunting so unless you’re here to tell me I’m one of the ones you’re keeping on, I need to end this conversation.”
“So you know who I am. I’m having some issues finding your coworkers. Do you have any update on them?” I figured Sarah must have delivered the news. “And, can you tell me why you were being paid twice or more salary that’s normal for your position?”
A smile curved his lips. “You are into the details, aren’t you?”
When I didn’t respond, Mark shrugged. “What can I say, Matty was generous to a fault. And I’m really, really good at what I do.”
Nic took my arm. “I suspect you are. Let’s go. There’s nothing here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark curled his fist and stepped closer.
Bubba stepped in the space between Mark and Nic. “I don’t think you want to do that.”
I could see the discussion going on in Mark’s head before he dropped his arm and uncurled his fingers. He hadn’t seen Bubba standing there. Now, he didn’t like his odds. He grabbed the door. “Just leave. There’s nothing more I want to say to you.”
As we made our way out to the street, no one spoke. We were almost back to the shop on Royal when Nic mumbled, “He’s hiding something.”
“You mean beside the fact he has at least one if not more of the missing antiques from the shop in his apartment?” I stopped walking, grabbed my notebook out of my tote. “Let me write down what I saw so we can check it against the inventory list. Then I’ll call Detective Charles again.”
Nic paced on the sidewalk, waiting for me to finish. “I don’t believe she was just there to grieve. She’s part of this.”
I tucked the notebook back into my tote. “You think Sarah killed Matty? Or Sarah and Mark killed him?”
“I think either scenario is a good bet. Of course, there’s no proof.” Nic sighed and leaned up against the wall. “You need to keep yourself safe. I’m not feeling good about this situation.”
“I knew Matty was gone.” A voice to my right side said, “Check the video.”
I saw Kirk standing by the corner watching us. “Did you say something?”
“Matty installed cameras. He knew there was something wrong with the store. He hired me to watch at night, but I didn’t see anything.” Kirk shook his head. “I must have fallen asleep. Stupid, stupid.”
“There are cameras inside the store?” I took a step toward him which was the wrong thing to do. He ran out into traffic.
“Stupid me, stupid me.” He chanted as car horns blared as he darted in between two cars.
