Best Enemies (A Triple Trouble Mystery) Read online

  BEST ENEMIES

  BY

  LYNN EMERY

  All of the names, characters and events in this novel are imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2011 Margaret Emery Hubbard

  Smashwords Edition

  Chapter 1

  Willa stared at the pile of papers on Jack’s desk and started crying. Not dignified dainty tears. Willa’s face quickly became a soggy mess as the one tissue she could find in her purse became soaked then shredded. No matter how she tried, Willa couldn’t pull it together. This was crazy since she’d threatened to kill her estranged husband more than once.

  Four days ago someone had done just that. Willa tossed aside the destroyed tissue then glanced around. Jack’s office reflected his personality, controlled chaos. Piles of books, manuals and papers were stacked around in what looked like no particular order. In frames along one wall hung Jack’s pride and joy, his degrees and licenses. On the opposite wall were framed pictures of Jack with various famous and infamous people of influence. Shining success mixed in with unsavory choices.

  Jack Crown had paid for one last bad decision with his life, wandering around late at night in a bad neighborhood. Not smart, and not the way Willa’s mother had predicted either, by an outraged woman he’d screwed literally and figuratively. As if on cue the screen saver on Jack’s notebook clicked on showing a woman in a sexy pose. Swearing, Willa broke a fingernail hitting the keys changing it to a bland picture of daisies.

  Willa stared at a photo of Jack standing next to his prized car, a metallic green Jaguar. Four days ago an unknown executioner had killed him for a few dollars on a dark street. So unfair. So horrible. Willa clenched her hands into fists. She had not even had the satisfaction of a farewell knock down fight. Some no good murderer had deprived her of one last chance to nail him with a piece of his family’s fine China. She snatched up a plaque on his desk and threw it. The sound of it hitting the wall sounded good, but didn’t break. She’d broken quite a few plates during their marriage. Her sobs dried up. And yet…

  The sight of his usual stack of files, his messy office habits, reminded her of their brief period of good times. His flair, wicked wit and grace enthralled her within five minutes of meeting him for the first time. His mess used to be cute. And the way he teased Willa about her penchant for color-coding and organizing everything used to be cute. Jack Crown could tilt his head to one side and make a woman believe he only had eyes for her. And God what beautiful eyes, clear and the color of honey. Willa sighed. Of course he knew his own power. The bastard. Willa started to cry again.

  “Damn you, Jackson Phillip Crown.” Willa gave her nose one last determined swipe. Tackling her purse again she found a fresh pack of tissues. She dabbed her eyes then took a deep breath.

  “He did have that affect on people,” his secretary said from the doorway.

  Only her head was visible at first. When Willa nodded the rest of her came into view as she entered Jack’s office. Kayosha Singletary, who liked to be called Kay, walked in, but did not sit down. Her smooth young face appeared eager to help. Still she was reserved around Willa, her deceased employer’s almost ex-wife. Today was the first time Willa had stayed in the office more than a few hours. Being there had felt eerie and she’d had to adjust to the fact that she was still Jack’s next of kin.

  “This office is a hot mess,” Willa said around a few more sniffles. She pulled herself together so Jack’s secretary wouldn’t think she was completely nuts. “How he got anything done is a miracle.”

  “Actually his system sorta made sense. Everything that he was working on stayed piled on his desk. Cases on hold for any reason are stacked over there.” Kay pointed to a corner near the window facing east. “Closed files got dumped in this stack next to the filing cabinet. Once a week I filed things away.”

  “Okay.” Willa glanced at the folders. She still only saw chaos despite Kay’s explanation. “I’m surprised he let you into his office.”

  Kay laughed. “We had an understanding. I only touched what he told me to touch, and he didn’t touch the files I put in order.” Her smile faded slowly. “It’s a shame the way he—”

  “Yeah,” Willa replied.

  Neither needed to finish the thought. Crime in Baton Rouge since The population surge after Hurricane Katrina seemed to be an unstoppable force. Yet it was unreal that someone she’d known and at one time loved was a victim. One more senseless murder added to grim crime stats for the city. Jack had been murdered for what mounted to pocket change while withdrawing cash from a convenience store ATM machine.

  “Now what?” Kay said, breaking into Willa’s bleak train of thought. She studied Willa as though looking for clues.

  Good question, Willa mused as she rocked back and forth in Jack’s expensive leather executive chair. Crown Protection Services employed forty-five full-time employees and almost as many part-timers. Kay was posing the question on behalf of them all Willa felt certain.

  “I’m not sure. My lawyer will have to advise me on what I can do legally. We were about to sign the final divorce judgment when… this happened. Jack may have changed his will in the last six months since we separated.”

  “Uh, I’m not trying to get in your personal business, but—“ Kay stopped as though waiting for a signal.

  “I realize that my personal business affects Crown Protection. I just don’t have any solid answers yet,” Willa replied.

  “Well what I’m saying is Mr. Crown never changed his will.” Kay sat down in one of the two chairs facing Jack’s desk. Then she moved a stack of papers so she and Willa could see each other better.

  “How do you know?” Willa stopped rocking and leaned forward.

  “Okay, I may have only worked here for a couple of years, but we clicked fast once he hired me. Not like that I mean,” Kay added quickly. “Strictly professional. He wasn’t my type.”

  “Right.” Willa wondered if she meant arrogant, lying womanizers weren’t her type. But she didn’t want to speak ill of the recently departed, at least not out loud.

  “Right,” Kay said, her lips curving up slightly for a few moments. "Anyway I took care of some of his private business, too. His lawyer advised Mr. Crown to change his will, but he didn’t.”

  “That’s weird. I would think cutting me out would have been his first priority. Jack may have kept a messy desk, but he was meticulous about his bottom line.” Willa gazed at a framed photo of Jack on the wall. He wore a custom suit and proudly held up a local business award he’d won seven years earlier.

  “Despite what it looks like Mr. Crown could put his hands on anything he needed like that.” Kay snapped her fingers.

  “True,” Willa agreed. Administrative assistants and wives knew men best. “So I’m shocked he didn’t carve me out of his will the minute he realized the old charm wouldn’t work anymore.”

  “He used to talk about you a lot.”

  Willa gave a snort. “I’ll just bet he did.”

  “Okay, not all of it was, er, complimentary. But he also said you were one of the few women he’d trust with his money and his child.”

  In spite of everything he’d put her through Willa’s heart skipped at hearing that. Damn that Jack Crown. Just when she thought his magic had lost its hold. One simple statement brought back the happy memories. They’d shared six months of blissful courting followed by seven good years of marriage. And Jack had embraced Anthony like he was his son. Willa cleared her throat and closed her eyes to fight off a crying jag.

  “He wasn’t all bad when it came down to it. He bragged on Anthony all the time.” Kay p
ointed to one wall of the office covered with pictures of Anthony. “He called that Anthony’s wall of fame.”

  Willa laughed hard, and Kay joined her. Seconds later they both took a deep breath as they exchanged a glance. “So you think he put off changing his will because he trusted me?”

  “Mr. Crown respected you as a person, Mrs. Crown.”

  “Call me Willa.”

  “Sure.” Kay smiled at her. “And yes, he definitely trusted you unlike, that string of hoochies he had in the last year or so.”

  “Terrible taste in women, present company excluded of course,” Willa said with a grin.

  “Actually he agreed with you about his taste in women based on a couple of comments he made about being too stupid to stay married to a good woman.” Kay nodded.

  “Thanks for telling me.” Willa wanted to shed more tears but managed to stay dry.

  “Anyway, one of his last lady friends came here and made a scene. After she left Mr. Crown was cussing like crazy about crazy heifers and how he needed to get his you-know-what together, etc.”

  “Uh-huh. Notice he never changed,” Willa snorted. “Oh well. That was Jack up and down.”

  “He said something about how the only smart thing he ever did was to not marry to any of them or change his will.” Kay smiled at her and shrugged when Willa’s mouth fell open.

  “Considering I was wife number three that’s saying something.” Willa rocked the chair back again.

  “So you’re in charge. Boss.” Kay gazed at Willa as thought expecting to get a set of instructions.

  “I have good news and bad news then. The good news is you won’t have to work for one of Jack’s crazy mistresses. The bad news is I don’t know a damn thing about running a security business.”

  Kay waved a hand as though Willa had mentioned a minor detail. “Cedric may be a bit full of himself.”

  “What an understatement.”

  Cedric Robinson was Jack’s chief of operations. He’d let it be known he expected to be left in charge. He even dropped hints about buying the business. Aside from that he seemed a bit too starched. Maybe being ex-military accounted for that. In any event Willa had decided she didn’t like him. He was condescending and humorless.

  “I’m surprised he and Jack got along. Jack was Mr. Charm and had that dry sense of humor. Cedric doesn’t have either,” Willa said.

  “Yeah, but opposites not only attract they make good working partners.

  “I’ll try to remember that,” Willa replied with a grimace. In just a few short weeks she’d butted heads with Cedric over several issues.

  “Hello,” a deep male voice boomed from the foyer.

  Yes, sir. I’ll be right with you.” Kay scrambled from her chair and straightened her skirt. “Probably our new client dropping off some paperwork. Jai won’t be here until after lunch to man the desk.” Jai Henderson was a full-time student with an undergrad degree in criminology. They always worked around her schedule

  “Maybe we need to hire a temp receptionist to help you out.” Willa frowned over one more decision she had to consider, and possibly fight with Cedric about.

  “More hands around here would be a nice change. Besides Jai graduates in a week and she already has a job.”

  Willa sighed. Six clients had bailed on Crown Protection after Jack was murdered. Having the man who is supposed to provide protection die violently could shake your confidence. Luckily the agency had contracts that would cost the clients money if they tried to jump to another security firm. Willa’s challenge was to inspire them to stay with Crown. To do that she needed experienced employees. She needed Cedric. And he knew it.

  ***

  Two hours later Kay knocked once on Willa’s half-open office door, said “I’ll be right back,” over her shoulder and came in. She shut the door firmly then crossed to Willa’s desk. Her entrance combined with her wide brown eyes gave Willa a start.

  “What the—

  “Police Detective Armand Miller is here to see you,” Kay broke in. “Maybe they’ve arrested Mr. Crown’s killer.”

  Willa doubted it. The last she’d heard from the police they had no leads, no suspects and a lot of other crimes to chase down. “Well let’s hear what he has to say then.”

  Kay nodded then left. Willa heard her voice seconds later, high pitched with contained curiosity. A deeper voice thanked her then heavy footsteps approached. Willa worked hard to appear calm and in control, to fake her way through one more interview with him. She stood and came around the desk to greet him.

  “Hello, detective.”

  Detective Armand Miller strode in wearing a serious expression. She judged him to be six foot two inches talk, two inches taller than Jack had been. Detective Miller didn’t have Jack’s smooth pretty boy good looks, but he definitely could hold his own when it came to appearances. Might help if he smiled more. It’s not like he didn’t have good teeth or anything. Willa liked his rugged “I can bench press two hundred pounds and catch the bag guys” aura. Detective Miller held out one wide hand. Yes, he definitely inspired a sense of confidence in law enforcement. She shook his hand feeling safer just at the solid heft of it. Before she knew it she’d smoothed back her hair with the tips of her fingers once she let go of his hand and wet her lips. When one of his dark eyebrows twitched up she stopped both actions. She blinked rapidly feeling a bit like one of Jack’s hoochies.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Crown. Thank for taking time out to talk to me last minute.” He glanced around the office then his gaze settled on Willa. Detective Miller managed to appear alert and relaxed at the same time.

  She crossed her arms to assume a business-like pose. “Don’t worry about interrupting my day. I’m still feeling my way along. Thankfully Jack has knowledgeable and efficient employees.”

  “Is that right? Well, that must make things so much easier for you. I mean, taking over a business that your ex-husband started. Or did you work for him at one time?”

  “Nothing more than answering the phones a few times while we were married. I had my own career of course.” Willa gestured to a chair and watched him fold his hefty frame into it.

  Detective Miller crossed his long legs. “Yes, paralegal and notary public. Interesting, working for that big criminal defense firm I mean.”

  Willa knew police officers had a tendency to like criminal defense attorneys as much as they liked their clients. “I’m afraid my job with them was quite dull, legal research mostly.”

  “Research that helped them build cases,” Miller said.

  “Right.” Willa sat on the edge of the desk. Her light gray skirt inched up causing Detective Miller’s eyebrow to go up once more. Clearing her throat Willa returned to the safety of her desk

  She had worked as a paralegal for the law firm of Craft, Mouton and LaPlace part-time after the divorce. The income from her small business as a notary didn’t come close to paying the bills. She was sure Detective Miller knew all about her, including her family background. Willa sensed he was taking in every detail and building a mental file on her beneath that genial exterior. She smiled as she added to her own file on him.

  “I see. I wanted to get a few more details from you about Mr. Crown’s activities in the months before his death.” Detective Miller pulled a small PDA from the chest pocket of his neatly pressed sky blue dress shirt.

  “You made any progress on locating a possible suspect? From the evidence found at the scene, I mean.” Willa kept smiling when he glanced at her sharply. His cocoa eyes sparkled as if to say, “Nice try, but I’m not talking.”

  “We’re following up on a few leads. Nothing I can discuss, of course.” Detective Miller held the PDA as though he’d forgotten it for the moment. He studied her.

  “Of course. I’ll help in any way I can naturally.” Willa watched him nod in approval. Then he favored her with a smile for the first time. He took care of his teeth. Put that in the plus column.

  “When we first asked his operations chief, Mr. Robinso
n, about the murder he said the business didn’t handle any cases that might be dangerous, mostly just security for private events and employee background checks.” Detective Miller used his small stylus to touch the screen of his PDA.

  “Right. Actually Crown Protection did as much valet parking as protecting,” Willa quipped. “Not exactly high intrigue from what I’ve read through the files.”

  “Someone who didn’t get a job or lost a job because of a background check might have become upset with Crown Protection.” Detective Miller looked up at her. “I’ll need a list of folks who might have had dirty drug screens or background checks that revealed unsavory histories.”

  “Wow, that’s a good idea. I’ll have Kay pull the database and give you the list of our clients. You can contact them directly.” Willa picked up the phone and hit the button to ring Kay. “Can you come in?”

  Kay blurted out a fervent “Yes” then seconds later appeared with a pad and pen. “What do you need, Mrs. Crown?”

  “Detective Miller would like a list of unfavorable employee background reports. Someone who didn’t get or keep a job might have had a grudge against the agency,” Willa said.

  “Sure. Mostly the employers didn’t tell us what personnel action or hiring decisions they made though. So I’ll give you the contact information for the businesses we contracted with. I’m thinking maybe go back at least six months?” Kay glanced from Willa to Detective Miller.

  “That’s a start. Thanks,” he replied with a curt nod.

  “Of course most of them probably wouldn’t know we were the source of the background checks. At least seven other agencies in town do that sort of thing. Not to mention freelancer investigators and New Orleans agencies,” Kay said.

  “Really?” Willa was impressed with Kay’s knowledge. She decided to spend more time having Kay tutor her in the fine points of the business. That should take Cedric down a few inches from that high horse he was riding.