Chapter Ten #2
Slightly out of breath, he looked around, checking to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. If her friend or her landlord came looking for her, they’d think that she’d left town for greener pastures. At least that was his hope.
He’d never asked Whitney anything about her friend, whom she’d mentioned a few times.
What would have been the point since he’d known they weren’t going to be together long?
Now he realized that had been a mistake because he really wanted to know how to find the redhead if it became necessary.
All he needed was another woman going to the cops with a wild story about him.
Worse, that would give the cops a name. Once the eyewitness identified Whitney from some photo Liz could supply, Amy Sue’s story became a little too plausible.
He had to get this to end, he told himself as he stepped outside and loaded the full bag of Whitney’s belongings into the trunk of the old car. He would dump it in a large trash container on the way back to Billings.
Leaving the house unlocked, he slid behind the wheel, hoping the old beater would start.
Things in his life had gone as planned for so long, he had expected it to last—until the eyewitness the night of the murder.
He’d always been so cautious. After that first time with Whitney when he’d given her a ride back to her place, he’d never returned until now.
When he registered each time at a hotel far from Billings, he mentioned that his daughter would be joining him so he would need adjoining rooms. They never arrived or left together.
He had his routine down and it had always worked like a charm—until Whitney. Now he no longer trusted his good luck. What should have been the perfect murder had been anything but.
He realized he was sweating as he turned the key. With a sigh of relief, the car started, though it was running rough. He couldn’t wait to get it back to the dealership, the bag in the back thrown in a dumpster on the way.
Still, he hesitated, feeling as if he’d forgotten something important.
That’s when he realized what else was missing from the house other than Whitney. There’d been no sign of the student master’s thesis she said she’d been working on, no paperwork in the house at all. The woman had lied about everything.
The thought rattled him. He was usually better at picking women who could be trusted and while not happy about it, had known the score and walked away without squawking.
As he drove down the road in the late-afternoon fading light, he felt an urgency to get away from Laurel and get rid of the trash in the trunk.
He wanted to be rid of everything about Whitney Clark.
He still couldn’t believe how she’d fooled him.
She was determined to marry a wealthy man no matter what she had to do.
Once she’d set her eyes on him, there had been no turning back for either of them.
Liz Baker tried her friend’s cell number, not all that surprised when it again went to voicemail.
For the past two weeks she’d tried to convince herself that there was no reason for concern.
It wasn’t like she and Whitney talked every day.
Sometimes they went for a week or two without talking, especially since they now lived so close.
But she was concerned because the last time she’d seen Whitney, her friend had told her something that had her more than a little worried.
It wasn’t anything new, Whitney’s choice in men, she reminded herself.
She and Whitney had been roommates at college.
Before that, Liz had watched Whitney fall in love multiple times and always with the wrong man.
Her friend would go into a downward spiral after the breakup and had eventually dropped out of college.
Liz had hung in, graduated with degrees in history and art, both of which had turned out to be worthless.
She’d gotten married to the first man who asked.
That, too, had turned out badly since she was now recently divorced.
So could she really blame her friend for wanting more out of life by marrying better?
The problem was Whitney hadn’t found that wealthy man to give her that life—until recently.
Before that Liz would get a late-night drunk call from her friend who was either crying or overly excited about someone she’d just met.
He’s perfect. He has tons of money and he’s crazy about me. That was usually the way the optimistic calls went. But soon after would come the late-night drunk calls with Whitney in tears because she’d been duped or dumped or both.
“Maybe your expectations aren’t realistic,” Liz would tell her. “Does he have to be rich, handsome, successful and crazy about you and ready to get married?”
“I’m not like you,” Whitney would say. “No offense, but I’m not going to settle.” Liz had married Robert, who had his own roofing business. But when his business failed, they were quickly overwhelmed by debt and the marriage failed as well.
Liz knew she had no business advising anyone on relationships. “I just worry that you’re always going to be disappointed. Did you ever consider your dream man might not exist?”
Whitney had scoffed at that. “I know that there’s a man out there who can give me the amazing life I deserve. I just have to find him.”
A few months ago, Whitney called to say she’d found the man of her dreams. She’d been over-the-moon excited. “He’s perfect. He has his own business. He’s very successful and handsome along with being rich.”
“Who is this amazing man?” Liz had asked, trying not to sound skeptical.
“I’m dying to tell you, but we have to keep it hush-hush for now.
He’s in the middle of a really ugly divorce, but once the divorce goes through, we’re going to get married.
” In the middle of an ugly divorce and yet ready to get married again right away?
Liz must not have hidden her feelings quickly enough, because Whitney added, “He’s having our house built for us to move into right after the wedding. ”
Building them a house? Getting married when the divorce goes through? Oh, Whitney, what have you gotten yourself into this time, was Liz’s first thought. Was the man even getting a divorce, or was he lying like so many of the others had?
Liz had to bite her tongue. She didn’t want to be the one who always tried to reason with her friend. Maybe it was true. Maybe Whitney had hit the jackpot. Liz certainly hadn’t.
But she couldn’t help feeling that this man was going to break her friend’s heart. There was nothing Liz could say that wouldn’t hurt Whitney, so she tried to be supportive. “He sounds like exactly what you’ve been looking for.”
“He is. He said I’m going to love the house, and he can’t wait to show it to me.
It’s still under construction, but he wants me to pick out everything so it’s exactly the way I want it.
He thinks I have a flair for decorating.
” She’d beamed. “He’s promised to show me the house soon so I can start planning what I want to do.
It’s really happening, Liz. I know you’ve always thought I was being too picky and I was going to be disappointed. ”
“I stand corrected. I can’t wait to meet him,” she’d said, hoping this time Whitney really would get the man and the life she’d always dreamed possible.
“Once the divorce is over and we’re in our new home, I’ll have you and Robert or whoever you’re with over for dinner. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
“That sounds terrific,” Liz had said, wondering if it would really happen. She definitely wouldn’t be with Robert or maybe anyone for that matter. “You know I just want you to be happy.”
“I am. I’m so lucky. Wait until you meet him. It’s going to blow your mind.”
Something in her tone had made Liz ask, “Is he someone I know?”
“I’ve probably already said too much,” her friend had said with a laugh. “His wife is really awful. We have to keep our relationship quiet so she doesn’t use it to get more of his money. She’s one of those.”
That was the last time Liz had spoken to her.
She’d been worried ever since after what Whitney had—and hadn’t—told her and then gone silent for the past two weeks.
One thing was clear. The man was married and maybe in the middle of a bad divorce.
It sounded like a dangerous place for Whitney to be.
Liz had been expecting one of her friend’s late-night drunk sobbing calls for several weeks now.
But she also hadn’t had one of her excited, my-life-is-going-to-be-amazing calls either.
Liz didn’t have to be at work for several hours so she decided to drive to Laurel to the house Whitney had rented. Her friend wasn’t answering her phone, which was unusual enough. She had a bad feeling she should have checked on her sooner.
On the drive from her own house south of Billings, she turned at the Laurel exit.
Her hope was to find her friend planning her wedding or busy making decorating plans for her new house.
What worried her that was this time Whitney might not be able to handle another broken heart.
This time the disappointment might be too much for her.
Liz knew firsthand what disappointment did to a person.
Russ couldn’t get Amy Sue off his mind. Back at his desk, he pulled up the information she had given them about the person she’d rented the apartment from online.
It was another piece of the puzzle and would prove that she was telling the truth if he could track it down.
When he’d called the number she’d given him that night to verify what she’d told them about the rental, he’d left a message for the man to call him back.
No one had and he’d dropped it, telling himself that it didn’t really have anything to do with the murder that allegedly hadn’t really happened.