Rear-View Murder: A Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery (7 page)

“It’s a flaw. I’m working on it,” Gemma said, trying to sound apologetic.

“Two rules,” Holly said, holding up her fingers. “At no time do we split up during this little search. And we only do this during daylight hours. This is scary stuff, Gemma, and dangerous. I’m not even going to tell Mitch about it until it’s over.”

“Deal,” Gemma said. Holly told Mitch everything and his lawyer brain analyzed it to pieces, so this was good news. He was good at arguing his point as well and would surely talk her out of it. “Now how do we find out where Opal might have, um, worked?”

Holly shook her head. “I have no idea. Richmond, Virginia is a huge city.”

Sadie arrived at their table with food, big juicy burgers and homemade French fries.

Gemma decided to take a chance. “Ma’am, could I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Sadie said, resting her ample hip against the edge of their booth.

“Do you know where prostitutes work in Richmond?”

The look on Sadie’s face went from surprise to shock as she looked from one of them to the other. “Girls, you don’t have to resort to that. You’re too pretty and you look like you’re too smart, to... Why I’ll hire you to work here before I let you do that.”

Holly barked out a laugh and Gemma shook her head struggling to hold back her own laughter. “No, ma’am, we’re just looking for someone and we were told that’s where she would be.”

Not exactly the truth but...

“Oh, well in that case wait a minute.” She went to the front counter, leaned over it and called out “Chester. Come out here please.”

Returning to the table, she explained. “Chester lived in Richmond his whole life until I hired him. He should be able to help,” she said.

A tall, thin black man approached their table, caramel colored eyes moving from one of them to the other and then to his boss. “Yes, ma’am, is something wrong?” he asked, wiping his hands on his apron.

“No, these two ladies here just need some information about Richmond.”

His gaze traveled back to where Gemma was dragging a French fry through ketchup. She popped it in her mouth and chewed.

Holly reached for her drink. She took a sip and said. “If you were looking for a prostitute in Richmond, where would you go?”

“Are you cops?”

Gemma laughed. Did they look like cops? This was the second time that day they’d been asked that. “No, we’re just trying to locate someone.”

“Private dicks?”

“Excuse me?” This time it was Holly talking.

“Private investigators?” Sadie explained.

“No,” Holly said.

“Yes,” Gemma said at the same time.

Gemma and Holly looked at each other. Sadie simply stared at the pair and Chester looked at the ceiling as if praying for deliverance from this situation.

“Sort of,” Gemma finally said. “We’re in training.”

It was obvious Chester didn’t believe either one of them but he didn’t ask any more questions.

Sadie still looked as shocked as before.

Finally Chester said. “North side of Richmond is the worst - dealers, gangs. Mostly busy at night, if you know what I mean. Hookers work Chamberlayne Avenue. If you want my advice, I’d say give it up. Your friend is probably lost to the snow or worse. Since you probably won’t do that, make sure you got a gun.”

With that, he turned and walked away. Gemma and Holly thanked Sadie and then finished their lunch in silence. After paying for their meal, they returned to Holly’s SUV and headed for Richmond.

“So, are you still interested in doing this?” Holly asked.

Gemma nodded. “I don’t have a choice,” she whispered. “That young woman is dead and it looks like no one but us is really worried about how she got that way and into the trunk of my car. Her family deserves answers. She deserves justice.”

“The police don’t even think she was murdered,” Holly reminded her as she drove toward Richmond.

“The police are wrong,” Gemma said simply.

“Do you think the ring has something to do with it?”

“I think so. It’s not a family heirloom and I doubt she could have bought it for herself.”

“Maybe one of her customers?” Holly reasoned.

“I doubt it. I get the feeling she wasn’t exactly serving the high rollers in town,” Gemma said. “Maybe she stole the ring.”

“Maybe. Would she give up her life for a ring?”

“Maybe she didn’t have a choice,” Gemma said, almost to herself. “And how did she get in the trunk of my car in long-term parking at the airport?”

“Maybe whoever killed her put her in the trunk of the car before it got to the airport. The driver never knew.”

“That could happen I guess” Gemma said. “Or while it was sitting in the bank parking lot at night.”

“They weren’t able to determine cause of death, remember,” Holly reminded her.

“A blow to the head was the only injury on what was left of her and that wasn’t life threatening.”

“Then it must have been chemical. Maybe an overdose.”

They located Chamberlayne Avenue and headed north. At first the street was lined with a mixture of residential and small businesses.

“I don’t think Chester meant this area,” Holly said.

The further they traveled the more residential it became. The houses then gave away to apartment buildings which grew more and more run down as they drove. There were weed filled lots between some buildings where it looked like something had been burned. There were dark alleys and broken down cars. The streets were littered with trash and weeds grew up between the cracks in the sidewalk.

This was exactly how Gemma had pictured it.

“What now?” Holly asked. They were stopped at a red light. She scanned the intersection carefully.

“There are some ladies on the corner up ahead. Let’s talk to them,” Gemma said, chewing nervously on her lower lip.

“What are you going to say?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll start with the picture,” Gemma said, her tension increasing with every passing second.

By the time they reached the three women, Gemma was shaking all over. She opened the heavy door of the SUV and climbed out. Her heels made little clicking sounds on the sidewalk. It had grown hotter as the day progressed, but Gemma didn’t think that’s why her palms felt so sweaty.

The women looked up at her approach.

“Hello,” Gemma said.

They stood there looking at her.

“My name is Gemma and...”

“Honey, this is our corner,” the tallest one said, stepping forward. She had flaming red hair, sticking straight up, and that made her look even taller. That and the five inch platform heels she wore.

“I know,” Gemma said. “And a lovely corner it is.”

“You might as well move along,” another woman said. She wore miniscule shorts and a halter that did little to halt anything.

“Oh, hush you two, she’s not a working girl,” said a third as she stepped up between the first two women. She was wearing what looked like baby doll pajamas. “Look at how she’s dressed. No man is gonna be interested in that. Now, what do you need, honey?” she asked before Gemma could react.

Holly inched the vehicle up closer behind her. She could see the hood of the car just over her shoulder.

“You a cop?” The tall redhead again.

“No,” Gemma said, holding out the picture. “I was just...I’m looking for someone.”

“Who?”

“Opal Sparrow,” Gemma said and held the photo out at arm’s length for them to see.

All three women studied it for a few moments, glancing up at Gemma from time to time.

“Never saw her before,” the woman wearing shorts said with a shake of her head.

After a few moments, the other two shook their heads as well. “Nope. Don’t know that one.”

Gemma knew they were lying.

“Okay, thank you,” Gemma heard Holly unlock the doors to the SUV and turned to climb inside, disappointed.

“Hey,” the woman wearing pajamas called out just before Gemma closed the heavy door. “You might want to try further up that way.” She pointed with a long, scarlet tipped finger that Gemma thought looked like a claw. “She might work for Bobcat.”

“Who is Bobcat?” Gemma asked.

But the women had already turned away from her and Holly was moving on.

“You need to rethink your wardrobe, evidently,” Holly said.

Gemma looked down at her outfit. It consisted of navy cotton slacks, a white top and a colorful scarf. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

Before Holly could respond, they passed an alley where two women stood smoking cigarettes. Gemma wasn’t quite as nervous this time when she got out of the SUV.

“Hello, my name is Gemma.”

“So?” the woman closest to Gemma said. She blew a smoke ring and then crushed out her cigarette under a high heeled boot.

“Shut up, Jolene,” the second woman snapped and put out her cigarette as well. “Hello, Gemma, so nice to meet you. Would you like to come up to my flat for a cup of tea?”

Jolene burst out laughing and Gemma felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.

“Sorry, we’re just bustin’ on you,” Jolene told Gemma. “Gotta do something to have a little fun down here.”

“I understand,” Gemma said.

“You lookin’ for somebody?” the woman asked, nodding toward the picture in Gemma’s hand.

“Yes,” Gemma said, holding out the picture. “Her name was Opal Sparrow. Some ladies down the street thought she worked this area. Maybe worked for someone named Bobcat.”

The two women exchanged glances and then suddenly became very still. Gemma could almost feel the fear rolling off of them. “Yeah, she works for Bobcat. Haven’t seen her around for a while though.”

“What do you know about Opal?”

Both women smiled. “Sweet girl. Not really meant for the streets but she tried real hard,” Jolene reported.

“I think Sadie was probably her best friend. They shared a place over on Fulton. Sadie looked for her for a while but couldn’t find her,” the second woman told her. “Sadie would probably be real happy to know where Opal is if you could tell her.”

“I’m afraid Opal is dead,” Gemma said.

The two women exchanged glances again, something unspoken between them.

“What about Bobcat?” Gemma asked.

“Oh, he’s very much alive,” Jolene told her in a low voice just above a whisper. “He’s the meanest pimp in town. Treats his girls real rough, especially when they don’t bring in enough money. He was awful hard on Opal.”

“Do you think he would have done something to her? Maybe got out of control?”

There was that look again. They knew something but they were unwilling or afraid to talk.

“Is Sadie still around?” Gemma asked, almost afraid that they would tell her Sadie had disappeared too.

“She’s still in an old abandoned building one block over on Fulton,” Jolene said, pointing.

“Thank you so much for your help,” Gemma said, her heart pounding as she turned back to the car where Holly waited patiently with the engine running.

“They know something but they’re not talking,” Gemma said.

“I had that feeling, too,” Holly added, following Gemma’s directions to drive over to the next street. There they stopped in front of a whole row of abandoned buildings. The only movement on the street was some ripped open garbage bags being blown around by an unseasonably hot wind.

“And just which one of these lovely buildings do you think she lives in?” Holly asked, giving Gemma a pointed look. “I mean, it’s not like we have an address.”

Gemma took a deep breath and gazed at the scene in front of her. Empty, crumbling, abandoned buildings lined both sides of the street. They all had broken windows and missing doors. “It would be brutal to live here in the winter,” Gemma said, hugging herself as if she was cold.

“It would,” Holly agreed.

“I can’t even imagine,” Gemma added, letting her gaze move up and down the street. “She could be in any one of these buildings.”

“So could this bad ass Bobcat person,” Holly reminded her.

Gemma sighed. “I’m sorry this turned out to be a wild goose chase. I guess we might as well...”

Before Gemma could finish her sentence, she spotted movement in a dark doorway. Without a word, she leaped out of the SUV and headed across the street toward it.

“Gemma,” Holly called out after her.

“Sadie,” she called out as she ran ignoring Holly. “Sadie, I want to tell you about Opal.”

A pale figure reappeared in the doorway and held both hands out in front of her. “Stop.”

Breathless, Gemma skidded to a stop halfway across the sidewalk. The young woman stepped just outside, almost hovering in the shadow of the building as if the sunlight would harm her. She had stringy dark hair, a pretty round face and dark eyes that were hard as glass.

“What about Opal?”

“She’s...she’s dead,” Gemma said.

Sadie lifted her chin defiantly. “How?”

“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”

“I didn’t do nothin’. I loved her like a sister.”

“I know but maybe you saw something or know something.” When Sadie hesitated, Gemma added, “Bobcat.”

At the mention of his name, Sadie’s eyes grew wide, filled with terror. Absently rubbing at a bruise on her thin, pale upper arm, she looked right and left and then back over her shoulder. “I don’t know nothin’.”

“Listen, I just want to help,” Gemma said, taking a step closer.

“Opal had a special man,” Sadie said, taking a step back.

Gemma didn’t move, sensing that Sadie was ready to bolt any second.

“He sent a car to pick her up.”

“Like a business man? What kind of car?” Gemma asked, her heart pounding. That would explain the ring.

“She said he was a senator and they were in love, especially after she found out about the baby. That’s when Bobcat really got mad at her,” Sadie said, her terror becoming more apparent. She was back inside the doorway again, slowly moving away.

“Wait. What did you say about a baby?”

“Sorry. I gotta go. I gotta go.”

Gemma stood there staring into the black doorway.

“Gemma.” That was Holly. She was right there behind her in the SUV. “We’re done here.”

“No, I think we’re just getting started,” Gemma said, turning slowly to climb back into the SUV.