In Case of Death (The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic Book 3) (3 page)

***

“May…”

My eyes flung open as the word escaped my mouth. Looking over at the clock I was unsurprised to see that it was 5:30. My body had been waking up without fail at this time since I could remember.

I lay on my back and contemplated the dream that only moments before had seemed so real. My heart was still pounding in my chest, a leftover from the puppy love I had experienced for her then I was guessing.

It had seemed so real.

I flung off the sheets and got up off of the bed, angry at myself. It was ridiculous to be thinking of May that way; we both had thirty years of living separate lives.

Feeling a little creeped out, I made my way down to the kitchen and got the coffee going. I was thinking of May again, but this time in the present tense.

Why was she hiring me?

While the coffee was brewing, I remembered the strange address that May had given me.

Why did it seem so familiar?

I made my way to the office and picked up the note. Pulling open the bottom drawer of the desk, I took out a county map and spread it out over the desk. Finding the name in the index, I cross referenced it with the coordinates given.

They pointed me to a spot in the county that I had also not thought about in years. It also seemed to be inexplicably pointing me toward another woman of my past.

One that did
not
bring back fond memories.

Chapter 6

September 15, 1999

As I inched my way up the long curved road, a feeling of foreboding crept up my spine. I had not expected to be confronted with this twist of fate, and I was unsure as to how to handle it.

Rounding the corner, the large house came into view…Randal Hill.

Reminding me of one of those huge old castles in England, the gigantic home must have sported at least 100 rooms.

Pulling the SUV into the circular drive, I stopped behind another car and parked. Making my way up to the front door, I found only a huge iron knocker, which I tapped loudly three times.

A well-dressed older man with neatly trimmed gray hair answered the door stiffly. Telling him my name, he nodded imperceptibly and turned on his heel, walking away from me and leaving me standing in the foyer.

Assuming I was supposed to follow him, I slowly walked down a grand hallway behind him as I gawked at the opulence surrounding me like a tourist. Ancestral portraits of the owner’s family were hung every few feet, each one surrounded by a beautiful gilded frame. Small tables and chairs interspersed throughout the hallway gleamed with a highly polished brightness.

Looking forward, I noticed the old man standing in front of a large door with his hand on the knob…stiffly waiting it seemed for me to catch up. As I got closer, he then turned the knob and entered the room.

“Mr. Celtic is here madam.”

A woman’s somewhat gravely voice answered, “Thank you James.”

Stepping back, the man allowed me to enter the large brightly lit room. Clearing the door, I was confronted by two beautiful women. May stood up and made her way toward me with a bright smile on her face.

She was gorgeous!

Slightly softer around the edges due to age, she still cut a stunning path through the room. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around my neck in an embrace as she laid the side of her face upon my chest. It seemed like we had never been apart as we enjoyed the closeness of an old friendship.

“Hello Gabriel,” I heard the other woman say lightly.

My eyes had been closed, and I hesitated a few moments before opening them to my host.

“Hello Raven…you are looking well.”

And indeed, she was beautiful. The gleaming smile aimed my way was bright; the perfect teeth making me feel self conscious. Her flawless alabaster complexion was neatly framed by unbelievably black hair as she made her way over to where we were standing. Offering her hand to me, I noticed the clean and crisp lines of her gorgeous face and body…the best money could buy I was sure.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me, and the smile seemed to be actually genuine.

“We are so glad you could come, can I get you something to drink?”

“Coffee would be good if you have it,” I said without much thought. When both women giggled at the statement however, it left me momentarily confused.

“We both said that earlier,” May responded with a smile, “It’s already set up over here.”

Indeed, there was an expensive looking insulated carafe sitting on a small table, along with china cups and saucers ringing a polished silver tray.

As I followed them back to the chairs, I thought back to my history with Raven. We had been in love in College; at least
I
had thought so. Eventually however, she had realized that my earning potential was not what it could be, and opted to dump me in favor of another man…an accountant.

He had been just the first of many husbands in Raven’s life, each one allowing her to trade up to the next level of income and importance. Her last husband had taken her to the top of the heap.

Calvin Forester was the richest man in our little county, and not so bad on the national level either. I had heard that he had died on an overseas trip while I was in South America.

“So what is it I can help you with ladies,” I asked as May poured me a cup of black coffee.

Handing the cup to me, she grew serious. “Had you heard that Tom died in the spring Gabe?”

I was shocked. Thomas Lassiter, May’s husband, was a great guy. Eight or nine years older than us, he was nevertheless a very healthy man the last time I had seen him.

“May, I’m sorry, I had no idea,” I stated with concern.

“Don’t worry about it Gabe. Neither Tom nor I have any family left around here anymore, except my parents. I didn’t bother listing his death notice down here…I just really wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”

I felt so bad for May.

“I can understand that,” I said while flashing back to my state of mind after Betty’s death.

“That’s why we called you,” Raven said as she picked up her coffee cup.

“What do you mean?” I asked, greatly confused at her statement.

“What she means Gabe,” May said while putting down her coffee, “Is that both Calvin and Tom were killed overseas, Tom six months ago in Egypt, Calvin over a year ago in Mexico.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said with regret, “But I’m probably not your best choice if you want to investigate an old murder overseas…especially in two different countries. It would be much better to hire people local to the area of the murders.”

Raven and May glanced at each other. “We don’t think it’s that simple Gabriel,” Raven said, “In fact, we think you are the perfect person for the job.”

“I’m still confused,” I said, forgetting my coffee for the moment. “How do you think I can help on two different murders on two different continents?”

“Because,” May said, looking at me through bright and determined eyes, “We think the murders…are linked.”

Chapter 7

September 15, 1999

I was shocked at their revelation. I had to take a moment to even figure out what question to ask next.

“What makes you think these cases are linked?” I finally asked them, having thought of nothing better to ask.

“To tell you the truth,” May started, “It was Raven.”

“She reached out to me about a month after Tom died,” May continued, “expressing her regrets and inviting me over for coffee the next time I came to town.”

“I had come across Tom’s obituary on the internet,” Raven chimed in, “And I thought…well, I thought maybe it would do us both some good to meet.”

Raven and May had never been close, either in school or afterwards. Their only real connection had been through me, and that was only for a couple of years in college. May had always been down to earth, and Raven had always been upward reaching. Seeing them both together now was as alien to me as a spaceship sitting on my lawn.

“So we got together the next time I came down to see my parents,” May continued.

“And we found out that we really liked each other,” Raven added with a huge smile.

Now they were finishing each other’s sentences…what the hell?

“Anyway,” Raven continued while leaning forward excitedly, “about a month later, I was playing around on the internet again, when I came across a news article about a man that was killed.”

Pulling out a drawer on the small table beside her chair, she picked up a single sheet of paper and handed it to me.

“I printed it off to show May, you can keep that copy.”

I read through the story quickly, one Larry Callestrano, an executive with a company in Cincinnati was found dead in an alley in Buenos Aires.  Although the local police stated that they were sure he was murdered, there were no clues as to the perpetrator. There was no description of anything missing from the dead man, but the police may have just omitted that fact. The story also stated that the case was now closed.

I looked up at the two women before me, both having hopeful expressions on their face. I looked at the article once more before shrugging my shoulders.

“I’m sorry, but it’s a crazy world out there, especially in other countries…I’m sure this happens all of the time.”

They both nodded in unison as Raven reached into the drawer again and pulled out a small stack of papers…and an atlas.

“That’s true,” May said as she watched Raven hand the stack over to me.

“But take a look at these,” Raven said excitedly, finishing May’s thought once again. That was really freaking me out a little bit.

Taking the pile of papers, I read through them slowly. Five obituaries, each one describing the death of a man while in another country. When I had finished, Raven handed me the atlas.

“Now take a look at this,” she said excitedly.

I was looking at a regional map with a large yellow-highlighted circle, complete with seven red dots interspersed throughout the circle. The center of the circle was indicated with a small black dot outside of Allenville.

“All of these men were killed overseas,” May chimed in again then. “All of them executives of some sort, all of them living within 100 miles of here.”

Both women then sat back into their chairs in unison, each with a satisfied look on their face.

Looking again at their accumulated evidence, I had to admit there was a compelling argument to investigate the deaths further.

Smiling, “I’m impressed with you two. There does seem to be a pattern that may be just a little more than chance.”

Both women beamed at my statement.

“However,” I said as tactfully as I could, “It’s still a long shot. Investigating something spread out like this…well, it wouldn’t be cheap for one thing. And of course, this would take time…maybe a lot of time. Maybe you should run it by law enforcement first.”

“We’ve already done that,” May said.

“We’ve been everywhere,” Raven chimed in.

“The locals say they have no jurisdiction in other countries…or in other states,” May spelled out her argument determinedly.

“And the FBI,” Raven added, “They don’t work in other countries either.”

“They didn’t believe us anyway,” May added with frustrated sigh. “They acted like we were two loony birds!”

There was silence for a few moments before both women busted out laughing at May’s remark. I smiled as I watched these two diverse women interact like sisters. It amazed me continuously how life could throw you together with the strangest of people sometimes and make it work.

“Besides,” Raven said as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, “Money is no object.”

“Nope, none,” May added as she tried for a serious look, “Tom left me a generous life insurance benefit.”

“As did Calvin,” Raven added, “as well as this huge house and his investments.”

They both were serious as they stared at me now.

“We want to know what happened to our husbands Gabe,” May said determinedly.

“And why they were targeted,” Raven added with resolve. “We’re beyond sure that someone is behind their deaths, someone from around here.”

“But we’ve gone about as far as we can on our own,” May admitted, “That’s why we called you Gabe.”

“We both know that if anyone can get to the bottom of this, it’s you,” Raven continued, “we both thought of you simultaneously.”

I was intrigued, I had to admit. They had done some good legwork, and had come up with a workable theory on their own. I was impressed, and told them so.

Both women beamed at that.

“But listen, I don’t care how much money you have, if I think it’s a dead end, I’m going to stop. I will give it my best shot, but if it’s over, I need you to trust me that it’s over.”