Chapter 3

 

Coincidentally Penelope Clark had recently arrived in Miami. She’d said she’d be happy to meet with me. I didn’t ask why she was in town, but it was probably because of her sister’s murder. I supposed I would find out soon enough. I was going to meet her in the lobby of the hotel where she was staying.

The only way that I had been able to get out of the office without Dorothy coming along with me was because she had a hot date with her boyfriend Morton Grant. They were going to the early-bird special at the seafood place down the street. Going on and on about the lobster and all you can eat shrimp, Dorothy had this planned for a couple of weeks. There was no way she was canceling just to go with me to talk with someone who might or might not have information about the case. Plus, I’d given her the rest of the day off. I forwarded my calls to my cell phone and headed on my way. Okay, maybe the phone rarely rang, but I digressed.

I wheeled into this parking spot and made my way into the hotel lobby. I had no idea who exactly I was looking for, but I had told the woman what I looked like and I was hoping that she would find me. I sat down on the sofa in the lobby area and watched the people as they went by with their luggage. I searched each woman’s face to see if she made eye contact. So far no luck.

“Are you Maggie?” a voice from behind me asked.

I spun around in the seat. The woman was leaning down, looking right at me.

I pushed to my feet. “Are you Penelope Clark?”

Her mouth arched upward slightly. It seemed like the most emotion she could muster. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m happy to meet you,” I said.

I moved around the sofa and was now standing right next to her.

“If you want to go out and possibly talk in a more private location…” She gestured.

“Sure, that would be great,” I said.

We walked outside the hotel.

“My car’s over there. Would you be willing to take me to the crime scene? Where they found your sister?” I asked. “I know that’s a lot to ask, but I couldn’t ever get a clear answer as to where this exactly happened. I didn’t get the name of the location, only the general area. I’d really like to get a better feel for the place so that maybe I can help somehow.”

“I’ll do it. I’m willing to do anything if it means finding who killed my sister.”

“My car is right over here.”

We got into the car and I followed her directions over to the location. We found a parking space and walked over to the building.

“Can you tell me everything you know about this?” I asked.

“Well, really the only story we have is from the boyfriend,” she said.

“But you don’t believe him?” I asked.

“It’s hard to believe him since he was the last one seen with her. It just doesn’t make any sense. He says they left separately. I mean, what kind of guy would leave his girlfriend behind?”

“I don’t know, but maybe he thought she wanted him to leave her alone?”

“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have helped her home and left right after.”

At what point would he not be responsible for her though? I thought she’d told him to get lost—wouldn’t that be something he would have to do? The sister was upset though, so I wouldn’t push the issue.

“I would like to speak with anyone who saw her last,” I said.

“I’ve done that, and supposedly the police have too, but it just leads nowhere.”

“So she was at the bar right down the street?” I pointed.

“Yes, that’s where they both were.”

“Maybe we can walk over there and talk with the bar employees.” I looked at my watch. “I would think they would be there getting ready for the evening.”

“I guess we can give it a try,” she said.

I understood her frustration, but for my own case-solving, I needed to cover all bases. Penelope and I went over to the bar and walked inside. Lights were still on and a couple of people were over behind the bar stocking liquor onto the shelves. I made eye contact with the guy behind the bar.

“We’re not open yet,” he said.

I flashed my wallet and walked over to the bar. Dorothy always got on me for doing that, but it had been her idea in the first place. And hey, I didn’t say I was a detective, I just showed my business card. It was his problem if he assumed I was a detective.

“I have some questions about…”

“The murder,” he said, finishing my question.

So he wasn’t too happy to talk with me, but that was okay. I wouldn’t let that stop me.

“What are the questions anyway?” he asked.

“Can you tell me if you saw anything or what you’ve heard?” I asked.

“I saw her talking with someone else that night. Like I’ve told the other detectives, she left with that person. I watched her myself.”

“Are you sure about that? There has to be a lot of people who come in this bar.”

“I even have video of her leaving with a guy.”

I looked at Penelope. “Have you seen it?”

She shook her head. “I’ve seen them. I’m sure Henry followed her after that.”

“Can I see the video?” I asked.

The guy motioned for me to follow him. We went back to the room. He had the videos readily available. I guessed he had shown them so often that he kept them close by. He pulled up the video on the computer. I watched the screen and saw her leaving with a guy who looked nothing like the boyfriend. When we got out of here I wanted to ask Penelope what she thought about this video. It seemed as if she had an excuse that put Henry back as the main suspect.

“Thanks for letting me take a look,” I said.

“Yeah, no problem.” He motioned toward the door and I took the hint that he wanted us to get out.

As we walked toward the door I asked, “So you didn’t see where she went when she left here? What direction?”

“No, I didn’t watch that long. Sorry.”

“All right, thanks again,” I said.

Penelope and I headed out of the bar and down the sidewalk toward my car.

“So what do you think about that video?” I asked.

“I agree that she didn’t leave with Henry and everything, but I still think that he was probably waiting out there for her. Once the other man walked Skye outside, he left her. That was when Henry attacked.”

Now I had my suspicions. I supposed it was possible that it happened that way. “But what if Henry had just gone home and Skye left with the stranger? Would she have done something like that?” I asked.

“I really don’t think she would’ve left with a stranger.”

I knew Penelope was a bit upset with my question.

“I didn’t mean to imply anything. I was just trying to get the facts.”

We paused by my car. I hadn’t even talked to her about Henry and his death. I supposed it was time for me to bring up the subject.

“When was the last time you were in contact with the boyfriend?” I asked.

Since she was so angry with him perhaps that would give her motive for murder.

“I made it a point to call him often, but I suppose it’s been a few days now. He won’t pick up my calls.”

I stared at her for moment. “So, you know what happened to him?”

“You know, I haven’t talked to him. I guess he got sick of talking to me. That just proves his guilt as far as I’m concerned.”

“I have some news for you… Henry was found murdered.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Do they know who did it?” she asked, staring at me.

“No, actually we don’t, and that’s what I’m looking into.”

Now that I knew that his girlfriend had been murdered I suspected that this was definitely related. Maybe the murderer had been looking for both of them that night. We got back into the car so that I could drive her over to the hotel.

“How long has it been since you were in Miami?” I asked.

“I guess a few weeks,” she said.

She didn’t seem very confident in that answer. I felt like she was keeping something from me, but I wasn’t sure what. I pulled up to the hotel parking lot and she opened the door to get out.

“Well, I hope that this helped you and that maybe you can solve this. No one else has been able to,” Penelope said.

“I won’t stop until I know exactly what happened.”

“I just need proof of it at this point. I know what happened.” She pushed her hair away from her face.

“I understand,” I said.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” she said.

She closed the door and I watched as she walked away. I pulled away from the hotel, wondering what my next move should be. I just got the impression that Henry was innocent. Skye had left with someone else and there was no physical evidence that tied Henry to the crime. At least as far as I knew there wasn’t.

Just the fact that he had been murdered right after Skye had made me think that they were related somehow. Unless of course Penelope had murdered Henry out of anger and in retaliation. She seemed completely convinced that he was the killer. I was sensing the exact opposite. I just felt like he was innocent. It seemed like there were just too many twists and turns to this case. Now I knew why it hadn’t been solved yet. What made me think that I could do it if everyone else who’d been working on it couldn’t?

I knew that I needed to speak with his relatives. Or anyone who could give me some inside information. I needed to know what had been going on with his life since the girlfriend had been murdered. Maybe I was way off. Maybe he really had done it.