Flowers for Her Grave

Chapter Thirty

“Richie?” Casey’s head spun. “What is Richie’s sweatshirt doing here? Whose house is this? Rosa, su casa?”

Rosa shook her head. “No, no. Maria.”

“Maria?” Casey looked at Dylan. “Why is Richie’s sweatshirt in Maria’s house? And where’s Maria?”

Dylan shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he left it behind and Maria grabbed it out of lost and found because she liked it.”

No. Maria was not the kind of woman to wear a man’s sweatshirt, or to give away lost and found items. She wore tailored business suits and completely put-together female clothes. The kind that were in the other bedroom.

Casey took a deep breath and looked around, her suspicions growing stronger. This was definitely not a home invasion. This was a panicked woman taking her family and running. Something must have made her believe her illegal status was about to be discovered. But why would Richie be running with her? If, indeed, it was Richie.

“Rosa, who lived here with Maria?”

Rosa blinked at her without comprehension.

Casey slowed it down. “Maria’s children? Ninas?”

“Si. Dos.” She held up two fingers.

“Anyone else? Just tres people?”

She brightened. “No, no. Quatro.”

Casey glanced at Dylan, who looked just as curious as she. “Who?” she asked Rosa. “Who made it quatro? A man?” Casey held up the sweatshirt.

Rosa nodded. “Si.”

“Was his name Richie?”

Rosa nodded, then froze, her hand going over her mouth. She then gushed forth with another slew of desperate Spanish.

Casey tried to take it in. Richie was living here. With Maria. And writing notes to Andrea about how “she” was so grateful and it would only take “a few more weeks.”

Whatever it meant, this connected Maria to Andrea in a way that was impossible to dispute.

Casey took out her phone and dialed Binns, praying she’d answer this time.

“This is Binns.”

“Where have you been?”

“Ms. Gray?”

“Listen. I have a lot to tell you, but first, I’ve discovered something you need to see.”

She told her the address, and ten minutes later Casey and Dylan were leaning on the Corolla out front when Binns and Gomez pulled up. Casey had put Rosa in the back seat, with the door open, where she alternately cried and stared into space.

Binns and Gomez parked behind Dylan’s car. Binns got out, eying the house, their little group, and the neighborhood. Gomez came to stand directly in front of Casey, looking down at her.

Casey kept her eyes on Binns, trying to ignore Gomez’s presence, until Binns had finished her visual inspection and come to stand beside her.

“Tell me,” Binns said.

Casey inched back from Gomez, explained Rosa’s phone call about what she’d thought was a burglary, and pointed out Rosa herself, who was in one of her staring into space moments. Casey went on to describe the discovery of Richie’s sweatshirt, and Rosa’s admittance that he’d been living at the house, which belonged to Maria Mendez.

“That’s all I can get from her, though,” Casey said. “She’ll only speak in Spanish, and I’m not fluent enough to catch much.”

Binns jerked her chin, and Gomez knelt beside Rosa. His voice was low and comforting, rising and falling with Spanish cadences. Rosa let out a sob, then began talking again, in halting spurts. Casey wanted to lay her hand on Gomez’ broad back, to steal some of that comfort for herself, to feel the vibration of his voice.

Binns waved her hand under Casey’s nose. “Hey. Gray. Any idea why Rosa called you?”

“She used Dylan’s phone.”

“What?”

Dylan gave a half smile. “I lost my phone in the gym today. She must have picked it up. She works there.”

“And she knows me,” Casey said. “At least, by name. I might have been the only one in his contact list she would feel comfortable calling.”

“About a burglary.”

“What she thought was a burglary.”

“And you came over here and went inside. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to do that? Don’t you watch TV?”

“No. Anyway, I wanted to be sure Rosa wasn’t in danger, that there wasn’t someone still in the house with her. I didn’t touch anything with my hands except the shower curtain and the bathroom closet door. Oh, and the front doorknob and the bathroom light switch. Dylan came in, too, but I don’t think he touched anything.”

Dylan shook his head. “Nope.”

Binns frowned. “Fine. Nothing we can do about it anymore.”

A police cruiser drove up and parked at an angle, effectively cutting off any chance Dylan’s car had of getting out of its spot. Binns stalked away and gave some instructions to the responding officers. She pointed her finger at Casey. “Do. Not. Move.” She went into the house with the uniformed cops, and returned several minutes later. “So. What do you think?”

“I think Maria hightailed it out of town, and took her kids with her.”

“And this Richie person who supposedly lived here with her?”

“He must’ve gone with them.”

Binns sucked on her teeth and stared at the house.

“You were here before,” Casey said. “The night of Andrea’s murder. Did you see a man?”

“I didn’t come myself. We sent patrol officers to check it out. They woke her up from a sound sleep, and there was no mention of a man.”

“How would they know for sure she’d been sleeping? She could’ve been acting.”

“Her car was cold. She hadn’t used it.”

“What about taxis?”

“We checked those, just to cover our bases. No one admitted to picking her up or dropping her off.”

“So someone at the Flamingo would have needed to help her, if she was the one who killed Andrea.”

Binns breathed through her nose, and out again. “You’re making a huge leap between Ms. Mendez’s leaving and Ms. Parker’s murder.”

“Of course. Aren’t you?”

“Other than the fact that Ms. Mendez works at the Flamingo, and Ms. Parker lived there, I’ve got no evidence of anything tying them together. For all I know, Ms. Mendez left on a whirlwind vacation to Disney World, and we have no business being here at all.”

Whoops.

“Let me fill you in on a couple of things I’ve discovered.”

Binns’ expression was dangerous. “You’ve been holding out on me again?”

“Not on purpose. I mean, I haven’t seen you…Anyway, I found a note today in Andrea’s apartment—which your officers already went through and cleared, remember?” Casey felt her pocket before remembering she’d changed pants, and the note was back in her room. “It was to Andrea from Richie.”

“This Richie? Ms. Mendez’s Richie?”

“Yes. The same Richie who was the fitness instructor at the Flamingo two people before me.”

A light dawned in Binns’ eyes. “And what did this note say?”

“That Andrea was an angel for understanding, and she should give him a few weeks and he’d be back for her. He wanted to hold on a little longer, until he worked something out.”

“Worked what out?”

“Well, that’s something else you should probably know. Maria Mendez’s name is actually Melina Reynaldo. Her green card expired over a year ago, and she hasn’t been able to get it renewed.”

Binns opened her mouth, looked at Gomez, then back at Casey. “And you know this how?”

“I found a stash of folders with secrets about people at the Flamingo.”

“What?” Dylan exploded, reminding them all that he was still there. “Richie was blackmailing people?”

“No, not Richie. Brandon.”

“Wait a minute.” Binns’ forehead wrinkled. “This Brandon guy was the next fitness instructor, the one just before you, right? I checked him out. He got fired, but Mrs. Williams wouldn’t tell me anything except she had to let him go.”

“He was blackmailing Maria,” Casey said.

“Only her?”

“No. Several other women, as well. Or else he made women romantic promises, and they put him in their wills.”

“I can believe that, “Dylan said. “Women were all over him.”

Binns’ eyes were steely. “Why are you just now telling me this?”

“I’m sorry. I only found the folders yesterday. I forgot. But what I really need to tell you I just found out this evening. I tried to call you, and left a message at the police department, and on your voice mail.”

Binns frowned and pulled out her phone. “Sorry. I didn’t see it. What is it?”

Casey swallowed and glanced at Dylan. He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Brandon Greer,” Casey said to Binns. “The guy who was blackmailing people? His name was actually Wayne Pritchfield. Nobody’s heard from him since he left the Flamingo. He was killed last night.”

Binns jerked her head, like a fly had landed on her face. “He was what?”

“Killed?” Dylan grabbed Casey’s arm to steady himself.

“Murdered. Somewhere close, but I don’t know what town. Stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.”

Binns blinked. “I think I heard about that. It was in Birmingham. They haven’t found the killer.”

“Birmingham, Alabama?” Dylan said.

“No, Florida. It’s about thirty miles down the road.” Binns pinned Casey with a stare. “That was this guy? How do you know this?”

Oh, boy. How to explain without bringing Death into it all. “I saw his picture on Maria’s computer and recognized him. From the news.”

“Really.”

“It’s true.” Sort of.

“So how does that connect to this?” Binns waved at Maria’s house. “And Andrea’s death?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t.”

“Of course it does.” Binns sounded exasperated. “Two murders involving people from the Flamingo? They have to be connected.”

Casey’s head hurt. “Okay. How about this? First, Maria is blackmailed by Brandon. He’s going to turn her in to the INS unless she pays him, or has sex with him, or who knows what? Before he leaves, he tells her that even though Richie is living with her, she shouldn’t get her hopes up about a future with him, because he and Andrea are secretly engaged.”

“And how does he know this?”

“How does he know anything? He’s good at snooping, and getting information out of people. Anyway, she tells Richie she’s found out about Andrea. Richie decides to stay with Maria, and tells Maria he and Andrea are finished.”

“What makes you think that?”

”Two weeks ago Andrea stopped telling her parents about her fiancé. Made it sound like it was over. And the phone number, remember? It was probably Richie’s, and he stopped calling once Maria found out.”

“But that was two weeks ago,” Binns said. “If Maria found out about Andrea that long ago, why did she wait so long to kill her? And she wouldn’t have a reason, anyway. In your theory, Richie stays with Maria.”

“Maybe Richie just this week decided he wasn’t willing to give Andrea up? I don’t know. Maybe he’d chosen, after all, to go back to Andrea, and leave Maria in the lurch. She went berserk. It makes sense. It was Maria’s key, after all, that let the killer into the building after hours. She would have access to the locker rooms, and would know Andrea and Krystal often worked out late at night. She could have faked the note to Krystal, so Krystal would make a surprise visit to the guard. It would be easy for her to sneak up, kill Andrea, and leave without being seen. She probably ran right to Andrea’s room after killing her to steal the photo of Richie and anything else of his she might find there.”

“And what note to Krystal was this she supposedly faked?” Binns’ voice was hard.

Casey winced. “Sorry. Krystal told me about it today. The hot young guard wrote and asked her to come down at midnight to…um…see him. That’s when she left Andrea alone on the fitness floor.”

Binns’ jaw worked, and she spent some time staring at the sidewalk before returning her attention to Casey. “Okay. All of the circumstantial evidence supports the idea of Ms. Mendez killing Ms. Parker, because of Ms. Mendez’s familiarity with the building and her involvement with Richie, but what about the transportation angle? If she really didn’t use her car, she would have needed another way to get home. There was no chance she could have walked here, or even ridden a bike, in the time between you calling the cops and us dispatching a cruiser.”

“One of the Flamingo vehicles?” Casey said. “They have trucks. And a Gator.”

Binns shook her head. “Nothing unfamiliar was seen here that night. Unless she parked blocks away, and then she would’ve gotten here too late.”

“Maybe she hitched a ride,” Gomez said. “That wouldn’t be hard. Lots of immigrants live on this side of town, and work on that side. She could have easily found someone she knew to bring her home.”

Casey looked at the neighboring houses. All dark, even with all the commotion in the street. “Somehow I don’t think you’ll get anyone to come forward.”

Binns shook her head wearily. “Same old story. But we’ll try.”

Casey considered the state of the inside of Maria’s house, and wondered what had precipitated Maria’s sudden departure. Had it been something Casey had said? Had she made Maria nervous asking about Richie earlier that evening? Probably. Sissy had said just moments afterward that everyone considered Casey in league with the cops. Casey had been there, asking Maria very pointed questions about Richie, and about Brandon. She had to admit it, if only to herself. She had most likely driven Maria—and her family, and probably Richie—away. “Maria’s gone for good, isn’t she? Everything’s a mess in there, like she left in a hurry.”

“Looks that way. Something got her spooked, and she took off. We’ll put out a call for her, now that I know about her illegal status and the possibility she killed Ms. Parker and the guy in Birmingham. We’ll hope she hasn’t made it too far yet.”

Dylan shook his head. “I don’t get it. If Richie left the Flamingo in May, why take the chance and stay in Raceda when he knew what Sissy would do if she found out? And if he really was involved with Andrea, why was he keeping that a secret and living at Maria’s house? It makes no sense.”

“I have a theory,” Casey said.

Everyone looked at her.

“When Richie was first working at the Flamingo he got to know Maria. Maria trusted him, and told him her green card has expired. From everything I’ve heard, Richie is a nice guy, and would do anything for anybody.”

“Super nice,” Dylan said. “Even to guys.”

“The note to Andrea was asking her to be patient. I’m guessing Richie had promised Maria he would help her with her citizenship, maybe even by marrying her and getting her a green card, I don’t know. But after he’d already promised to help Maria, Andrea moved into the building, and he fell in love with her. He didn’t want to break his promise to Maria, so he stayed with her while she worked at getting her citizenship.”

Binns didn’t look convinced. “He was still going to marry her, even after falling in love with Andrea?”

Casey shook her head. “I don’t think so. You saw the bedrooms. They were obviously sleeping separately.”

“That could’ve been a show for the kids.”

“I don’t think so. I think the marriage was all just paperwork. At least on his side. But maybe it wasn’t to her, and when she found out about him and Andrea she freaked out because it meant their green card wedding was off.”

Binns looked hard at the house, thinking. “Right. When Maria found out about Andrea she wouldn’t necessarily have been angry about him having a girlfriend, at least from a romantic perspective. But she would have been losing her way to stay in the States if he married Andrea instead of her.”

“What I don’t understand,” Casey said, “is why Richie took off with her now. How could he possibly want to stay with the woman who killed Andrea?”

“Unless she has him believing she didn’t do it. Or unless she’s killed him, too.”

Casey shivered, realizing that Death was gone. Was Death off delivering Richie to the next life?

“Who knows?” Binns said. “Love—or sex, anyway—can make people do the strangest things, and threats to your family’s life are just as bad, if not worse. We’ll find her, and once we do, we’ll have a lot of questions to ask about Ms. Parker and the guy in Birmingham.”

“But why did Maria kill Brandon? Or Wayne. Or whatever his name is?” Dylan asked. “I mean, I know he’d been blackmailing her, but he’s gone. How did she even know where he was?”

“He might have still been blackmailing her,” Casey said. “Once Andrea was dead Maria probably figured her future was secure with Richie. He would marry her and they would be set. Maybe she set up a time to pay off Brandon, but really went to try to change his mind. And when he wouldn’t…”

“She killed him.” Dylan’s voice was hoarse.

Casey shrugged. “Brandon could still prove the marriage was done just for a green card, especially since he knew about Richie and Andrea’s engagement. That’s as good as sending both Maria and Richie to jail. Maria wouldn’t leave her kids parentless, so she did what she had to do to keep her family safe.”

Dylan’s face went a shade paler, and he sat hard on the curb, his head between his knees. Casey patted his hair.

“Now, you two,” Binns said. “Back home. We’ll talk tomorrow. Tonight I need to take care of things here, and get in touch with law enforcement in Birmingham. If Ms. Mendez killed both of these people, we’ll want to work together. I’ll send someone over in a little while to pick up Mr. Greer’s folders, Ms. Gray. Do not go anywhere.”

“Can I have my phone?” Dylan asked.

“We’ll return it to you as soon as we can.”

“How about my car?”

“Gomez,” Binns said. “Transfer Ms. Rosa to our car, please, and back up so they can get out.”

Gomez said something to Rosa, and helped her out of that car and back toward his. He hesitated beside Casey. “You going to be okay? You need me to take you back?”

“I’ll be fine. Dylan will drive me.”

Gomez looked over at Dylan, who stood a little straighter and puffed out his chest. Each man regarded the other with calculating eyes.

“Oh, good grief,” Casey said. “Dylan, let’s go.”

Her voice snapped the spell, and Gomez continued leading Rosa toward the unmarked car. With a pang, Casey watched how gently he guided her. Just as Reuben would have done.

“So we’re going?” Dylan stood by the driver’s side door.

Casey returned her attention to the house. Until earlier that day, Maria, her kids, and Richie had made a sort of family there. Now Maria had most likely killed two people, possibly three, and she and her kids were gone. On the run. Fugitives. Who knew what would happen to them tomorrow?

Casey opened the passenger door of Dylan’s car, and got in.