Page 21 of Out of the Shadows
“Define ‘a lot.’”
“Six, seven calls a day? And texting. Lotta texting.”
Frank swore under his breath.
“And he didn’t say who?” Margo asked.
“No—well, on Wednesday I think it was, he was texting a lot, and he looked upset. I asked him if something was wrong, you know? With his family. I know he’s divorced, but he talks about his kids all the time, proud of them, proud of his ex-wife too—there’s no like, um, anger. Sometimes there is, you know.”
“I do,” Margo said. “So you asked and what did he say?”
“He said it was nothing, a job he was doing for someone.” He glanced at Frank.
“No moonlighting allowed?” Margo asked Frank.
“I don’t care, one of my guys has a house-cleaning service with his wife and sister. Works one day a week with them. But if Charlie is leaving early to work another job? I’d definitely talk to the boss about that.”
“I’ll find out and tell Logan myself,” Margo said and turned back to Julio. “Anything else you remember about these calls and texts?”
“Only that he was on a call Friday for fifteen minutes before he told me he had to run an errand and might be late getting back from lunch. I didn’t hear the conversation, but he looked frustrated. Like, um, if you’re explaining something to someone and they aren’t getting it, so you explain it again and again.”
“That’s helpful. Thanks, Julio. If you think of anything else, please let Frank know. And if you or anyone else hears from Charlie, call me.” Margo gave him her card.
“Do it,” Frank said, giving his blessing. “It’s okay with Mr. Monroe and it’s okay with me.”
Chapter Seven
While driving to Charlie’s condo, Margo called Jack.
“Charlie left work early on Friday and didn’t show up at all on Saturday,” Margo said. She told him what she’d learned from Frank and Julio. “Can you ask Laura if Charlie has a second job? Maybe a temp job, or working for a friend.”
“She’s on the phone with her clinic,” he said. “I’ll text you. Did you follow up on Brittney’s alibi?”
“Her date at Mastro’s? They don’t open until four.”
“Mom knows the owner,” Jack said.
“Really?”
“Yep. His son’s a veteran and had some legal issues—I don’t know the details—when he left service. Mom helped. She and Dad had their anniversary dinner there the year before— Well, I’ll ask Mom to find out.”
Before, Margo thought. Their dad had been in prison for the last three years after pleading guilty to killing his colleague at the VA. Margo didn’t believe it. Out of everyone in her family, her dad was the least likely to kill anyone. But he refused to talk about it, and when Margo visited him, she didn’t bring it up anymore.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t have her own private investigation into Dr. Klein’s death. The problem? She was at a standstill with no leads to follow.
“Brittney’s up to something,” Margo said. “I don’t think she knew anything about the hit-and-run or break-in, but she was nervous when I showed up. She became more irritable, but less nervous, during my questioning. She thought I was there for something else.”
“Up to what?”
“I don’t know if she’s just squeamish because she doesn’t want Logan to know she’s dating or if she has some game going on. I think game because she still denies she did anything wrong.
“It’s none of our business. I don’t care what happens to her or any other guy who gets stuck in her web.”
Jack was right. Maybe it was just that Margo didn’t like the woman. Brittney had hired her under false pretenses, lied to her, cheated on her husband, lied about it, was party to embezzlement, and she was getting away with it—with a two-million-dollar house and three million in cash for her efforts. It didn’t sit right with Margo, but she needed to let it go.
“Margo,” Jack said when she didn’t immediately say anything.
“Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, I’m heading to Charlie’s condo. Maybe he’s sleeping. Call or text if you learn anything from Laura about a second job. I also need to know about his friends. If Laura is on good terms with his family—parents, siblings—she should call them. Maybe he has a legitimate reason for being out of reach. If I don’t find him in twenty-four hours, Laura needs to think about filing a missing persons report.”
