The Wrong Victim

By Jeanette Cooper

Two young women are murdered in the basement of Thomas Marshall’s elegant home. The crime goes undetected. Many years later, Maria Anna Marshall, lives with a sense of terror that consumes her every time she steps inside the front door of her late father’s home. The strength of that terror centers on a basement door, locked for years and made inaccessible to her. She knows she isn’t crazy, but the house gives her strange chills and causes her to suffer bouts of anxiety heightened by terrible nightmares that spiral when...

Someone Wants Her Dead

Someone has a stake in silencing Maria Anna’s latent memories from childhood, someone with secrets worth killing for. All her chilling fears coalesce, and her fiancée, Private Detective Sam Hesston, who vigorously investigates the case, becomes her only hope of staying alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeanette Cooper
• Release date: Dec 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465849953

Jeanette Cooper

Jeanette Cooper, a native Georgian, a former elementary school teacher, graduate of University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Reading instruction, is mother of a son, grandmother of a grandson, and lives in North Florida near the Suwannee River.Jeanette enjoys walking, reading, cooking, and gardening, but her greatest pleasure comes from writing and watching characters come alive as they interact with one another in adventurous life-like dramas that motivate reading pleasure.Her latest romantic suspense novels are Passionate Promise, Vulnerable to Deceptive Love, Stripped of Dignity and The Wrong Victim..

Book preview

Prologue

Thomas Marshall drove from the hospital to his home, a bandage covering his forehead where he sustained a cut during a minor car accident. It was Saturday night, his card-playing night. His friends would likely be well into the game by the time he arrived home since he had spent a considerable time in the hospital waiting room. Nevertheless, he had called home, speaking to one of his housemaids and asking her to inform his friends he would be late.

It was a dark night outside, but unusually cool for that time of year. He drove through the gated entry to his estate and down the long drive that circled in front of his spacious home. Eager to participate in the card game in his basement, he parked behind the other cars and hurried inside.

When he opened the basement door, everything was unusually quiet downstairs. He smiled, thinking his card-playing friends were engrossed in their game.

I apologize for being so late, fellows, he said when he neared the bottom of the stairs. A van with parents and four children were in a bad wreck and they arrived ahead of me at the emergency room, so... His voice fell silent. He stared in disbelief. His friends weren’t sitting around the card table as he expected. His face contorted into a worrisome frown. His breath quickened.

He saw Yolanda’s body on the floor. God almighty, what has happened here? he gasped out in a raised voice brimming with shock.

No one spoke.

Thomas ran and knelt down by Yolanda’s unmoving body. He sees her panties draped around one ankle. He checks her pulse. With shock and puzzlement marring his usually calm features, he looks from one man to the next, and then back again to the most composed of the three who stood in the doorway of the little reading room containing a daybed. Thomas spots Pia’s prone body on the daybed behind his old friend. Touching Yolanda’s neck again for a pulse, he shakes his head mournfully and comes to his feet.

Pushing past his friend whose bulk is blocking the doorway, he stops dead in his tracks to stare at the still form on the bed. A pillow covers the beautiful young woman’s face. Thomas snatches it off and checks her pulse, shaking his head in sheer horror and disbelief at the bloody sheets between her legs. He turns about so he can see the three men all at once, his face ravaged with shock.

What in God’s name have you done? Thomas Marshall cried.

Chapter 1

Twenty-Five Years Later

"Christy, the blue car that tailed me yesterday is tailing me again," Maria Anna Marshall said into her cell phone to her friend and office manager of the thriving real estate business she owned.

Can you get the make of the car, or a description of the guy driving it?

It’s a blue older model car. The sun glare on the windshield hides his face from view.

Maybe you should call the police.

I thought of that, but they can’t arrest the guy just because he’s driving behind me.

Still... Christy said, her voice trailing to thoughtfulness.

Maria Anna Marshall glanced in her rear view mirror, frowning. A chill of fear seized her. He picked up my trail just outside the city limits—at least, that is when I noticed him in my rearview mirror. He could have been there ever since I left the location where I met with Pete Scarborough to tour some of his new houses.

Is he still behind you? Christy asked.

He’s still there. I’m going to try something. She braked suddenly at a side street and turned right, thinking to ditch him. A glance in the rearview mirror showed him turning behind her. She came up to a light. It turned yellow, but she raced through it. He accelerated his speed and ran the light.

He definitely is following me. I made a right turn and he stayed behind me. Strains of tension tightened her shoulders. Her hands were numb from gripping the steering wheel. Terribly frightened, her heart sped twice its normal rate. Her mind played with the idea of a pervert stalking her, and having read about such things in the newspaper sent her nerves on edge.

When you get here you need to call the police.

I’ll speak with Sam about it and see what he thinks

Maria Anna, don’t hang up the phone until you are in this building. You don’t know what kind of weirdo you’re dealing with, Christy warned.

Okay, I’m turning into the parking lot. She took a deep breath, feeling tension in every part of her body. Something stung her eye. She reached up and wiped away sweat popping out on her forehead even though the car’s air conditioner whirred steadily.

Is he following you into the lot?

No, thank God, she said with a sigh of relief.

The parking lot served clientele and business owners of a small strip mall that was located near the outskirts of the city of Warner Robins, Georgia. Maria Anna’s real estate office sat at the eastward end and Samuel Hesston’s PI office sat next to it.

Her father initially helped her finance her agency. I’ll pay you back, Dad, when I get on my feet, she had told him.

He smiled and patted her arm. It’s not a requirement. I’m here if you need me.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Thank you, Dad. I love you. He seemed embarrassed by her affection, and disentangled himself from her arms. That was his way, a tall, up-right, dignified man, nice and pleasant, even-tempered, but distant and unresponsive when it came to affection. From early in life, Maria Anna had sensed a wall between them through her father’s reluctance to demonstrate feelings, but for that interval, when he helped her find a location for her real estate office, she had felt close to him.

Hey, maybe you should park your car up close to the office, Christy suggested while she looked through the plate glass window of the real estate office. She saw Maria Anna step from her car, putting her slender high-heeled feet on the pavement. Dressed in a lovely powder blue suit with a loose fitting jacket and a tight knee-high skirt, she was as glamorous as a high-class model in a fashion magazine.

Maria Anna stood a moment by the door of her silver Mercedes. Trembling, her legs felt weak and wobbly. She glanced between her car and the distance to her real estate office that occupied the space at the east end of the building, almost getting back in the car to move it before closing the car door. With a shrug, she changed her mind. Instead, she reached for her attaché case and purse, locked the car door and started walking toward her office.

I guess it’s best I don’t break the rules, she responded to Christie’s suggestion. If I park up closer then you and the other girls will start parking there, too, and the clients will have to park wherever they can find a place. I’m signing off now. I’ll see you after I stop off with Sam a couple of minutes. She turned off her cell phone.

Walking from the parking lot, Maria Anna glanced through the plate glass window advertising the name Samuel Hesston, Investigative Services, painted in large pale blue letters. White light from the overhead florescent light fixtures washed his office, spotlighting Sam sitting behind his old banged up metal desk bought at a thrift store. He held a phone to his ear and a pen in his right hand, jotting notes on a yellow pad. She waved at him and her movement drew his glance. He motioned to her to come inside.

She opened the door to his office and stepped over the threshold just as he put the phone down. Hi, she said, smiling despite jittery nerves from her recent event with the blue car. Excitement from being in the same room with Sam had the effect of a pleasant electric charge. He put sunshine in her life even when there was none outside, and the mere touch of him could send her passions soaring. He was her first love, her first sexual partner, and she hoped someday he would be her husband.

Hi Baby. He spun his swivel chair about to greet her, his gaze drifting over her, registering approval. Her long black wavy hair, thick and fluffy, framed the delicate curve of her oval face with its natural olive complexion. His glance slid on down the length of her, her beautifully clad figure more sensuously inviting than any female he had yet known.

Something important? she asked, indicating the phone call he just ended.

You might say that. The caller was answering a newspaper ad I placed. I have decided to hire someone to answer the phone and help with the paperwork around here. I also plan to hire an assistant who can do some of the legwork and use a computer. Business has been steadily picking up and my time is so scattered with different cases that I can’t adequately apply myself to my clients’ problems.

Have you found anyone yet?

The ad just went in the paper today and the girl I just spoke with is the first caller. She’s coming in for an interview later today.

A tinge of disappointment skirted across Maria Anna’s brow. She was so used to stepping over to Sam’s office anytime she wanted and catching him all alone that the thought of a woman employee sharing him touched off a tinge of envy.

She stepped over to where he sat, his ancient old desk facing the wall to avoid the glare of light through the front plate glass window. He swung around in his swivel chair to face her. Maria Anna bent down to rest her hands on his shoulders, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his lips. He liked it so much he pulled her onto his lap and extended the kiss. She could feel the rock-hard arms clasped about her and the smooth sleek firmness of his well-muscled chest pressed against her bosom. Traces of thick dark hair on his chest peeked above the V-collar of his pullover shirt.

You’re trembling, Sam said. Are you okay? He leaned away from her and studied her face.

Not wanting to spoil the intimate moment, she shrugged and nodded affirmatively. Then she closed the space between them with another kiss.

I’ve got a few minutes if you want to visit my back room, he whispered suggestively in a teasing tone—except he was not teasing. They had spent many lunch periods in that backroom that was barely large enough to hold more than the small cot.

Maria Anna laughed, brushing his plundering hand aside. She was highly tempted, and it certainly would not be the first time. He had a magnetic pull on her that required no more effort than a suggestion most of the time. It’ll have to wait until tonight, she stated with promise, pecking him on his cheek before moving off his lap.

Where have you been all day? Sam inquired.

The usual, I had a couple of clients earlier whom I drove around on a tour of homes for sale. I put out a For Sale sign at a piece of property I contracted to sell, and then I met with your old friend Pete Scarborough and his architects. He wanted my input on what features of his newly constructed homes were receiving the greatest interest from buyers.

I take it you wowed them with all your observations. He sent her a cockeyed grin.

She arched a brow and smiled. Pete already knows what he wants. He just wanted me to confirm that he’s doing a good job building saleable homes.

Sam glanced at his watch, noting it was well past the lunch hour. Have you eaten yet?

No, I have a sandwich in the office. I have lots of paperwork I need to catch up on. She was thinking about the blue car, wondering if she should mention it to Sam.

You’re still trembling. Are you sure everything is alright with you?

Actually, I’m not alright, she said and paused.

What’s wrong? Sam’s attention piqued.

Someone followed me yesterday and today.

Sam’s expression took on avid interest. Frown wrinkles creased on his forehead. Why do you think that?

A blue car followed me home yesterday and followed me again today back to the office. When I turned, he turned. When I sped up, he sped up.

Tell me about it, he urged.

She told him as many details as she remembered from the time she saw the blue car yesterday until today when he drove pass her turnoff into the strip mall entrance. Sam, if I have any enemies, I sure haven’t done anything to foster their intrusion into my life. You know the hours I put in at my job and the office—six days a week and sometimes seven. I go to work, pay my bills, and never break the law. I’m always careful with people’s feelings, and am grateful enough for my security that I help others whenever I can. If I had to describe myself, I would say I am friendly, harmless, and altruistic—so why would someone follow me?

I don’t know, baby, but if this happens again, I want you to call me immediately, and then call the police.

He pulled her onto his lap again and pressed his lips to her mouth, drawing an instant response. The kiss went on for several seconds until they had to come up for air. Sam loved touching her, being close to her, but she equally loved him touching her. She was touch deprived after growing up in a home where the demonstration of affection was not practiced. She had loved her father and Cassie, her nanny, but Sam was the first person in her life with whom she could demonstrate feelings and share affection.

Are you sure it was the same car yesterday and today? He asked, nuzzling his tongue in her ear.

Sam, stop that, she laughed and moved off his lap. I’ve got work to do. And yes, it was the same car.

He appeared unconcerned about someone following her, but she knew he was deeply concerned. What are you doing tonight? His flashing white teeth behind his seductive smile hinted boldly.

What do you have in mind, Maria Anna asked saucily, reveling in the closeness of him and the way his look could make her feel like the most important person in his world.

The slow grin that followed and the sparkle in his translucent blue eyes was disarming enough to zap the strength in her knees. I’ll have to show you. His jaunty grin held supreme promise.

Behave your self, she declared, playfully slapping his hand. Then more seriously, she added, Do you think I should be worried about the blue car following me?

Baby, with all the weirdoes out there now a days, one never knows. Just keep your eyes open and if you see the same car tailing you again, then I will definitely look into it. Try to get a license plate number if you can, plus the make and model of the car.

Hey, she said, giving him another hug and a tweak on the cheek, I’ve got to go.

Remember we have a date tonight, Sam reminded her.

Chapter 2

Maria Anna opened her office door and stepped inside, nodding and moving aside for two clients just leaving.

Did you lose the guy tailing you? Christy asked from her desk that sat just inside the door on the left.

He drove on past when I turned off.

Shouldn’t you call the police?

Sam says if it happens again to call them. I just want to try and not think about it.Are there any messages for me?

Yeah, a few, Christy replied, handing Maria Anna a stack of notes. Nikki and Ginger called in. Ginger said she would be showing houses to clients until late. Nikki was trying to finish up with a client so she could be back here by two. Marley is in her office. She just wrote up a buyer contract with the folks you saw leaving.

Maria Anna nodded acknowledgement. She was exhausted from her busy day and from staying awake much of last night, violently awakening from another terrible nightmare that prevented her from going back to sleep. The blue car following her had further contributed to her frayed energy.

She set her purse and attaché case down, kicked off her high-heels, and slipped her feet into some comfortable walking shoes. Then she planted her shapely bottom in the padded swivel chair at her desk, prepared to go through her messages and return telephone calls. Her desk was haphazard with folders and documents everywhere, and needed organizing. She expected she would be in the office for the rest of the afternoon.

Upon hearing Maria Anna’s voice, twenty-nine year old Marley Saunders came out of her small cubicle office. Hey, Maria Anna, I just sold another house. I feel like I’m on a roll, she laughed happily.

Maria Anna looked up at Marley with a big smile and cheered, Alright! She stood up and hugged Marley’s neck. I’m proud of you, and that makes this a successful day for both of us. Pete Scarborough’s crew just broke ground at a new construction site where he plans to build dozens of new homes. He has given us exclusive marketing rights. We have our work cut out for us, she remarked with pride.

We’re on a roll, Marley said cheerfully. I think I’ll be able to close the sale on the Donavan estate soon. My client says she has to sleep on it a couple of nights. She rubbed her thumb and fingers together. I can sure use this commission. It’s time for me to buy a new car since mine is in the garage again.

Christy was following their conversation. Well, since the two of you did so great today maybe you deserve an afternoon break, Christy suggested.

I wish Maria Anna groaned. I have too much work to do. Pete wrote up an advertisement on the condominiums for the newspaper. I have to touch up his spelling errors and call the advertising department to place the ad. Then I have to clear my desk and make all these return calls.

She would forever be thankful to Sam for introducing her to his good friend, Pete Scarborough. Just overnight Pete had turned her then unheard of real estate agency, City & County Real Estate, into a productive business. He gave her marketing rights to all the homes and condominiums at his new construction sites. Business had flourished with droves of new clients after she took on Pete’s listings.

As if on the same mental wavelength as Maria Anna, Christy asked with a chuckle, You reckon Scarborough ever sees his wife and those five kids of his?

I’m sure he makes time when Patsy demands it, Maria Anna grinned. The man is driven by an obsession to create, build, and erect communities—lucky for us. Patsy Scarborough said he sleeps four to five hours a night and wakes up excited like a kid ready to go on a field trip.

How does she stand it? Christy asked.

Oh, she’s found ways to manipulate him to her wishes. She threatens to leave him and sue him for everything he has, Maria Anna laughed. When she requests his presence for dinner, a party, an outing, or some event for the kids, you better believe he makes himself available.

That sounds like a woman I should have taken lessons from, Marley stated with dry cynicism. She had finally kicked her husband out of her house about four months ago after years of hell with him, supporting him, putting up with his abuse, and his alcohol and drug habit. After his arrest on his latest drug charge, Marley finally said, Enough! She changed the locks on the doors of her house before his bail release and warned him to stay away from her and their son Damien.

Maria Anna and Christy looked at her sympathetically. They knew she had been through some hard times.

Marley walked to the front of the office and stood gazing out the window. She glanced at her watch, her face wrinkling into a worried frown. Immediately, she grabbed for the little gold cross she always wore around her neck. She rubbed it unconsciously with her thumb and forefinger.

Maria Anna had previously seen Marley twirl the cross in her fingers when she was anxious. Is something wrong, Marley? she asked.

Marley took a deep breath and shrugged. Nikki said she would be back in time for me to borrow her car. Mine is in the garage for repairs and I have to pick up Damien at school today. He has a dental appointment.

No problem. Maria Anna picked up her keys where she had dropped them on her desk. She extracted her car key from the ring and tossed it to Marley. Take my car.

Are you sure? Marley asked. I’ll be gone for at least a couple of hours or more.

That’ll be okay. I have to return this stack of phone calls and clear off my desk, so I’ll be here late.

Thanks, Maria Anna, Marley said humbly.

You’re very welcome. Is everything okay at home now since Corky is gone?

Oh yes, much better. Things are peaceful and I am even managing to save a little money now that he’s not around to spend it on beer and drugs. Things are looking up, she said cheerfully, perking up with a bright positive attitude now that she had transportation to get Damien to the dentist.

Give Damien a kiss for me.

Marley glanced at her watch again. She went into her office cubicle and straightened up her desk. She grabbed her purse. I’ve got to hurry or Damien will be waiting and wondering where I am. I’ll see you guys later, she called over her shoulder on the way out the door.

Marley hurried toward Maria Anna’s Mercedes, stopping half way there. She watched a blue car pull out of the parking lot onto the street. She could swear it was Corky’s old Oldsmobile. She shrugged and continued on to Maria Anna’s car.

Christy shook her head. Poor girl, she’s really had a rough time of it, hasn’t she?

She’s had some tough breaks, but she seems to be handling things well now that she’s split with that no-account husband. Things will get better for her, I’m sure, Maria Anna said, picking up the phone and dialing the telephone number on the first message.

The phone on the other end rang three times before a voice answered. Hi, this is Maria Anna Mar...

BOOM!

The explosion echoed like a sonic boom shooting waves of vibration through the building. The panes of glass rattled as though they might shatter any moment.

Startled, Maria Anna dropped the phone jumping to her feet. What the... She hurried to the front of the office and gazed through the plate glass window. Christy was already staring out at the parking lot. Maria Anna’s gaze raced to where a huge blaze of fire engulfed her Mercedes and black smoke rose into the air. People were running from stores and offices, racing toward the burning car.

My God, what has happened? Christy implored.

Nikki, ignoring the rule about parking away from the office, pulled up out front and rushed inside. Maria Anna! Oh my God, I saw your car. I thought it was you, she cried in rising panic.

I’m okay, Maria Anna said in a partial daze. She and Christy were so engrossed in watching the burning car they barely paid attention to Nikki. People staggered backward away from the searing blaze. Two young men who had been close to the car at the time of the explosion lay upon the ground where the impact knocked them off their feet. A man ran over, helping them up and leading them away from the hot flames. Other folks ran away from the furious blaze toward the building.

Oh my God! Maria Anna gasped, desperately scanning the parking lot for any sign of Marley.

It’s your car! Christy cried out as if no one had seen the car but her. It’s burning!

Marley, Maria Anna screamed, Oh God, please don’t let Marley be in that car. Please, God. She rushed out the door with Christy and Nikki right behind her, racing across the parking lot toward the blazing inferno.

Samuel Hesston had already exited his office and was racing toward the flaming vehicle. Maria Anna knew what he must think—that she was in that car.

Sam, she called, but with people talking, some crying out hysterically, her voice drowned in the racket. Like everybody else running across the parking lot, or already milling around some distance from the fiery blaze, Sam appeared desperate and in a state of near hysteria.

Black smoke rose toward the sky, carried in a windswept path from a light breeze. A puff of wind skirted past Maria Anna’s nostrils, leaving the smell of burning flesh mixed with the scent of rubber from the burning tires. She sucked in a lungful of the fetid air, gagged, and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her weakened knees threatened to give out on her. She started backing up, moving slowly, the full impact of what had happened registering like a bolt of lightning.

That smell! Oh God, that smell! She turned and ran back to the office, got to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet bowl until she was gagging with dry heaves.

Christy glanced over her shoulder to see Maria Anna’s disappearing back. She stayed where she was at a safe distance from the scorching heat, as stunned as everyone else was. She saw Sam glancing about nervously like a wild person wanting to do something and not knowing what to do. Christy knew he must think Maria Anna was in the blazing car.

Sam, she called, her voice muffled by her sobs. She got his attention, and motioned to him.

He ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Maria Anna! he choked out in a strangled voice. Tell me it’s not her. Tell me!

Christy had never seen Sam so out of control. He was hysteric. It’s not her, Sam. She’s in her office.

Who’s in the car? he demanded, calming slightly after learning Maria Anna was safe.

Marley, it’s Marley Saunders, Christy cried, and heard a sickening gasp from Nikki who stood next to her. Nikki was just putting the pieces of the puzzle together, realizing that because she was late getting back to the office, Marley had taken Maria Anna’s car.

Jesus! Sam said raggedly, and tore out at a run toward the real estate office.

Maria Anna washed her face, trying to get control. She went back out in the outer office, gazing through the panel of glass at the climbing blaze of flames. She stared at the burning fury in the parking lot with sick fascination. Oh Marley, I am so sorry. God, I am so sorry, she wept, falling into the nearest chair, her head bent forward in her cupped hands. She was recalling those last words Marley said: Things are looking up.

Maria Anna’s face was awash with tears, which she wiped with a tissue taken from Christy’s desk. If only she hadn’t lent Marley her car, she thought, still in shock enough that she failed to consider the alternative if Marley had not borrowed her car.

Then she suddenly recalled Marley’s intention to pick up eight-year-old Damien who would be waiting for her.

Damien was Marley’s eight-year-old son. He was waiting at school for his mother to take him to a dental appointment.

Sam came running into the office like a wild man, his face pale and emotionally tortured, his eyes haunted. As soon as he caught sight of Maria Anna, he reached out to grab her in his arms. Maria Anna! he bellowed. I thought it was you, he moaned, completely shaken. He drew in some deep breaths of air, hoping it would reduce the tension in his tight muscles.

Oh Sam, it was Marley. Marley was in my car, she sobbed, leaning the side of her face against his chest.

Sam’s hand caressed her head, relief and love flooding through his soft touch. Where is her car? Sam asked in a breathless voice still shaky with lingering adrenaline fright.

Maria Anna wiped at her damp cheeks. It’s in the garage for maintenance. She had to go pick Damien up for his dental appointment, so I loaned her my car.

Oh God, Maria Anna! he gasped, wrapping his arms about her tighter, realizing that except for a stroke of fate it would have been her in that burning blaze.

"Now we know for a fact that someone was following me. They did something to my car," Maria Anna suggested.

They put a bomb in your car, Sam corrected.

Oh God, someone wants to kill me, Sam. Marley wasn’t the target, I was.

Did you notice that blue car in the parking lot when you came from my office?

I didn’t pay any attention. I was thinking of all I needed to do this afternoon, she answered. I have to go get Damien, Sam. Marley was going to pick him up and take him to the dentist. I have to go get him. I can’t just call up Marley’s folks on the phone and tell them what has happened. It would be too cruel. I need to pick up Damien and then go break the news gently to his grandparents.

Then we better go. The police will be all over you with questions when they learn the bombed car is yours. Come on, I’ll drive you.

Chapter 3

Christy and Nikki remained outside watching all the busy activity, each continually wiping at tears. They saw the first police car appear on the scene in mere seconds, someone obviously having called 911. Other police officers were advancing closer, their sirens screaming in the distance. A fire truck came careening down the street that was now jammed with motorist slowing to a near stop to view the flaming car. The first police officer who showed up began directing traffic to keep it flowing and avoid a traffic jam, or worse—multiple car crashes.

Another police officer pulled in the parking lot a distance from the flames, and immediately started moving people farther away from the scene. Another car next to the Mercedes had also caught fire, its flames growing by the second.

The fire truck pulled into the parking lot at a safe distance from the two burning cars, and the firefighters jumped to action. Not long after they started spraying the burning cars the flame was out within minutes. The black charred vehicle sat there with plumes of smoke dancing upward from melted tar and tires.

The glass was broken out of the windshield and windows, the black skeleton of the car frame offering a clear view of Marley’s charred remains in the driver’s seat. A blackened hand still clung to the steering wheel.

Shocked gasps and exclamations echoed from among the curiosity seekers, none of them about to leave so long as there was anything left to see.

Christy saw Sam and Maria Anna drive away, suspecting they were probably going to pick up Damien.

In shock, Nikki kept mumbling in an undertone, I should have gotten here sooner. I should have gotten here sooner.

Police officers began roping off boundaries with yellow tape around the two cars, just as an unmarked police car pulled into the parking lot and two men, obviously detectives in suits, got out. A Crime Scene Investigation crew was right behind them.

Does this one remind you of the one we handled last year? Detective Jack Sinclair asked his partner Allan Yancy.

Looks like the same handiwork to me, Yancy replied.

Lot of damn good it does us. Didn’t have any evidence then and probably won’t have any now unless someone saw something.

They turned and walked toward the crowd that now spread in a near circle at a safe distance around the two cars. People had come running from blocks around when the black smoke reached the sky and caught the eye of just about everybody who was outside on the sidewalk or driving down a street, even from blocks away.

Do any of you folks know what happened here? Detective Yancy posed the question to anyone who was listening, holding up his badge.

People stared at him and shrugged.

Finally, one woman hesitantly raised her hand with her cell phone in it. I’m the one who called 911. I was in my store up there, she pointed at a baby-boutique with a pink-painted store front, and just happened to glance out the window and saw the burning car.

Did you see the person who torched the car?

It was a bomb. I heard it explode, someone called out.

Well did anyone see someone putting a bomb in the car, Detective Sinclair asked impatiently.

Most of us are busy in our stores, shops or offices and just don’t pay much attention to people coming and going in the parking lot, volunteered someone who had moved closer to the group facing Sinclair.

Detective Yancy looked perturbed. If some guy was messing around someone’s car, wouldn’t you notice or wonder why?

Not necessarily, a woman replied. "We would just think it’s a mechanic come to make a repair. It happens when someone’s car won’t crank.

Do any of you know whose car this is? Sinclair asked.

Yeah, it belongs to the Marshall woman in the City & County Real Estate office.

Oh, shit! Sinclair thought. He knew the woman was the late Judge Marshall’s daughter. She would draw lots of news, which would create pressure on him and his partner to put the case to bed as quickly as possible.

The coroner drove up in an ancient old white hearse, used to carry burned, bloody, or mangled corpses back to the morgue.

I don’t suppose there’s anyone here who knows Miss Marshall? Yancy asked.

I know her, Christy said, pursing her lips and struggling for composure as she sniffed back tears.

Miss, Sinclair said, observing that she wore no wedding ring, what’s your name? He had learned how women hated someone to call them ma’am, even the older ones.

I’m Christina Belford, Christy replied. I’m the office manager at City & County Real Estate. She motioned to Nikki. This is Nikki Carpenter, who is a realtor for City & County Real Estate.

Nikki didn’t acknowledge the introduction. Her tear drenched face held a fixed daze expression as she stared toward Marley’s charred remains in the burnt car.

Sinclair’s voice became sympathetic. "Is Miss Marshall the person in that car?

Christy sniffed tearfully. No, she answered, breaking into another attack of sobs. It’s Marley Saunders, one of the real estate agents.

Spectators gathered around Christy, Nikki, and the two detectives, squeezing in closer to hear every word said. Christy, suddenly feeling stifled by the close proximity of so many people around her, started backing up, elbowing people out of her way.

Back up folks, give us some room here, Detective Yancy said, waving his arms like a farmer shooing chickens. Reluctantly, the crowd backed away.

A news van drove up. The photographer and reporter jumped from the van and joined the circle of spectators. Camera flashes of light exploded in their faces.

Is there some place we can talk privately? Sinclair asked Christy.

We can go to the office, Christy suggested, putting a comforting arm about Nikki’s waist and leading the way.

The encircling crowd turned their attentions back to the blackened ruins of the two vehicles, those less squeamish trying to get a closer look at the charred corpse while the CSI team worked through the scorched debris looking for evidence.

Maria Anna had locked the door, but Christy had her own key. She started wearing it around her neck after she locked herself out once and had to call a locksmith to get in.

Christy unlocked the door. She led Nikki to the chair at Maria Anna’s desk. Nikki lowered her head into her arms on the desk and cried silently. The detectives followed the two women inside, standing by the door waiting to gain Christy’s attention.

Gathering a couple of chairs from a small reception area, Christy placed them in front of her desk. Have a seat, she told the men, blowing her red nose on a tissue before taking the chair behind her desk, facing them.

A reporter and photographer, followed by several spectators, gathered outside the plate glass window. The photographer snapped pictures through the glass, until Christy hissed a sarcastic retort from between clenched teeth, jumping from her chair and closing the blinds.

Yancy snorted and cursed. Damn news people are like vultures, he complained as Christy returned to her chair behind her desk.

Did Mrs. Saunders work here? Sinclair asked.

Yes, she was a realtor.

Why was Mrs. Saunders driving Miss Marshall’s car? Yancy followed up. He and Sinclair had been partners so long they worked like a well-honed machine. One asked a question, and then the other asked a question, both staying focused on their objective as if able to read each other’s minds.

Marley put her car in the garage to be serviced. Her little boy had a dental appointment and she needed to pick him up at school. Nikki, was supposed to come back and drive her, but was busy with a client and was late getting back. Maria Anna told Marley she could borrow her car.

So no one knew in advance that Mrs. Saunders was going to be driving Miss Marshall’s car? Sinclair asked, glancing at Yancy then back at Christy.

Christy considered the question, its significance dawning upon her like a shattering jolt. Someone meant the bomb for Marie Anna. God, she had been so upset about Marley, she never even thought about the outcome if Nikki had shown up in time to take Markey to pick up Damien at school. Maria