CMM01 - Without Any Evidence Read online

  Rosa jumped, startled. She had been thinking about Jerry and touching her breast imagining it was Jerry's hand on her. She blushed as she turned around.

  "Thank you," she said shyly.

  Jerry walked over to a radio that was sitting next to one of the stalls. He kept tuning it until he found just the right music.

  "I think tonight should be very special for us," Jerry said as he reached around her waist, pulling her close to him. As they danced he held her very close. He had never acted this way, and it made Rosa all tingly as she felt him push his hips to hers. His body pushed into hers in a way that touched her in all the right places. She could hardly contain herself and she felt herself getting moist as the throbbing between her legs increased.

  There was a bed in the tack room of the barn. It was dark and the smell of the fall air mixed with the smell of hay made it seem more exciting and romantic to Rosa. Jerry picked her up and carried her to the bed. Jerry took his time as he undressed her, kissing her breasts as he slid each side of her blouse off her shoulders. He kissed her stomach as his hands slowly moved down to ease her skirt from around her hips taking her satin underpants with it. By the time he took her, Rosa was pleading for him.

  It was Rosa's first time and Jerry wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her. He wanted her to want him. He needed her to want him. And Rosa wanted Jerry in a most primal way. Jerry was also experienced. He knew what to do to please a woman. He knew all the places to touch a woman. And he pulled out all the stops. He made sure that Rosa was satisfied and wanting more.

  It was love to Rosa, but to Jerry it was all part of his plan.

  "Rosa, Claire's parents are trying to have her declared legally dead. When they do that, it will mean I will be free again. When that happens, will you marry me?"

  "Of course," Rosa said without hesitating. How could she not after what they had just done.

  Jerry and Rosa walked back up to the pool arm in arm. Wade and Miguel were sitting by the pool talking as Jerry and Rosa walked up. Miguel wasn't very happy about the amount of time Jerry had been spending with Rosa. He liked Ramon and had hopes for Rosa and Ramon to be married soon. Miguel especially didn’t like the fact that Jerry wasn't doing anything else to help out. Rosa played with the children, Wade and Miguel worked on the ranch, and Jerry sat and read or talked on the phone with his attorney.

  The Simons' had frozen Claire’s and Jerry's accounts and Jerry had been working with his attorney trying to find a way to sell the house or at least get hold of some of Claire's money. He wasn't about to give up and neither were the Simons. They held the mortgage on the house, so there really wasn't a lot Jerry could do about the house, but the bank accounts were a different matter. They were in Jerry’s and Claire's names, even though Jerry had his own account where he put his paychecks. The money in their joint accounts came from the sale of Claire's photographs and her trust fund. Julie and Ted never liked the fact that Jerry's name was on the account with Claire's, but she was a grown woman and there wasn't anything they could do about it.

  "What have you two been up to all evening," Wade said as Jerry and Rosa sat down by the pool.

  Rosa could feel herself blush. She was sure they could tell what they had been up to.

  "Nothing much, just feeding and grooming the horses," Rosa said quietly.

  "Well, that's not exactly all," said Jerry. "I've asked Rosa to marry me as soon as we get the go ahead from my attorney."

  "What?!," Wade and Miguel both said in unison. "Claire hasn't been found. You can't marry someone else." Miguel practically yelled at Jerry then turned to Rosa, “and what about Ramon? Have you forgotten all about him?”

  Rosa froze and said nothing. She knew how Miguel felt about Ramon, and she cared about him, too, but not like she felt when she was with Jerry.

  "I'm quite aware that Claire hasn't been found. But you know as well as I do that Ted and Julie are trying to press the police into declaring Claire dead so they can come after me."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jerry was right about that. Julie and Ted had been working furiously to get the court to declare Claire legally dead so they could come after Jerry with a wrongful death civil suit. They wanted to believe that Claire was still alive, but they knew in their hearts she wasn't. They knew if she were still alive she would have called them. And it had now been more than three months and they still had no evidence that anything had happened to Claire and they hadn't heard from her either. The more time that passed, the more certain they were that she was dead, and before they could do anything they had to take the legal step of declaration. Then they could file a wrongful death suit against Jerry and try to get their grandkids back.

  Meanwhile, the court decided they could visit the children, but they had to go to Mexico to do it. And since that was a different country, nothing was a given. But they had to try.

  Ted and Julie decided to go down for Thanksgiving. When they arrived in Mexico they went to the local authorities. They had heard all about Jerry Booth and his troubles in the United States and they weren't too happy about him being in their fair city. That being the case, they were all too happy to help Ted and Julie try to see the children.

  It was a beautiful day as Ted and Julie drove out to Wade's ranch, the local police in tow. When they got there the children were nowhere to be found.

  "If we'd only known you were coming," Jerry said through the front door screen knowing perfectly well the Simons were enroute to see Teddy and Bella. "The children are with Rosa. They've gone to the beach on a holiday. I'm supposed to meet them there."

  "You son of a bitch," Samuel snarled at him. "I know you knew we were coming. You keep close tabs with your lawyer and it's been all over the news at home. We have papers that give us visitation. You can't keep us from the children."

  "Oh, yes I can," Jerry said back. "The children simply aren't here for you to see. You'll have to come back some other time."

  Miguel saw this as a perfect opportunity to call Carly. After all, it had been months since he'd seen her and he had thought about her a lot. The soft curls of her hair, the determination in her face and the way her mouth curled up at the edges when she smiled.

  "Detective Malone," she said picking up the phone at her desk, “May I help you.”

  "Detective, this is Miguel Alverez. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

  "Oh no," she said quickly. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. "What can I do for you? Are you here in town?"

  "No, I'm at home. The Simons came down to see the children, but Jerry pulled a fast one and got Rosa to take them away for the day. There's been so much going on here. Do you have time to talk?" he asked her hoping she did. Not only did he want to fill her in on what was going on, but he just wanted to hear her voice and her soft Southern accent.

  "Well, to tell you the truth, I was just walking out the door to head home, but I could call you back when I get there and then you can fill me in on the details." Carly wanted to get home so she could talk to Miguel without anyone overhearing just how much she was enjoying talking to him again.

  "That would be perfect," Miguel said. "They are all gone to the beach for a few days, so I have all night free. You've got my number. Just call me at your convenience."

  Chapter Twenty

  Carly didn't even remember the drive home. Her heart was pounding so hard the entire time she thought that it might actually jump out of her chest.

  She wheeled her car into the driveway and literally ran into the house. Just as she closed and locked the door, she realized she needed to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and put her keys on the table. As she walked into her bedroom she was trying to think about anything but how nervous she was.

  Carly decided to change into a t-shirt and sweat pants before she called Miguel back. She also decided that a glass of wine to calm her might be a good thing as well.

  In the kitchen, Carly reached for a bottle of her favorite Cabernet and a glass. She ope
ned the drawer and searched for her corkscrew. "Finally," she said out loud as she found it in the third drawer she looked in.

  With wine in hand, Carly padded barefoot back into the living room, grabbed the phone and sat down the couch. She, of course, had Miguel's phone number memorized. Not that she had called it, but it was one of those compulsive things she did.

  She found herself shaking as she pushed the numbers on the phone and she still wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Miguel.

  The phone rang and rang. Carly’s heart started to sink. She had been so excited at the thought of talking to him and now her disappointment at the thought of not reaching him hit her like having all the air sucked out of her lungs.

  She hung up the phone feeling strangely sad. As she took a sip from her glass of wine, she tried to tell herself that she didn’t really care. After all, he had called her first. Besides, she rationalized, she probably shouldn’t be talking to him anyway. She took her wine, filled the old claw foot bathtub with hot water, poured in some lavender bubble bath and soaked.

  "This is crazy," Carly said out loud, as she slipped between the sheets of her bed. She was all tingly with the knowledge that she would be talking to Miguel soon and not even the glass of wine she'd had calmed her nerves. As she slipped off to sleep, her mind drifted to when they had been alone in her jeep. "I wish I had just kissed him!" she said rolling over and hugging her big feather pillow.

  By the time Carly got in her car to head out for her morning walk, the news was all over the radio and television about what had happened in Mexico. The Simons took every advantage of the news media's interest in the case and had no sooner arrived back in town before they were on the phone calling the reporters. Nashville couldn't wait to hear all the sordid details. Carly just shook her head and drove out to the park to run off the frustration at both the case and at not getting to talk to Miguel.

  Chapter Twenty One

  A lot had been going on back in Nashville, too, since the last time Carly had talked to Miguel.

  The usually tight lipped society of attorneys had been talking to the police. After months of being questioned, the law firm where Jerry had worked just after graduating, was finally answering some questions about Jerry’s character and work habits. It seems that Jerry had not left on the best of terms. As a matter of fact, he had been told to resign or be fired.

  One of the female attorneys at the firm had received a type written note from an admirer. But this was no ordinary note. It was downright x-rated. It talked about how the writer wanted to smell her essence and suck on her breasts. It also went into some detail about how he wanted to make her writhe with excitement.

  Needless to say, the woman who received this little tidbit was none to happy. She took it immediately to her boss, who immediately called a company that handles situations such as this. They set up a trap to video tape the person leaving the notes. Jerry Booth was the person they caught.

  Carly and Bill were assigned the task of talking to Melissa Evers, the now former employee who was the recipient of these letters. She now had her own practice with offices in the Green Hills area of Nashville. Green Hills is one of those areas where part of it is nice expensive homes and part of it is older, not so great homes. One thing it does have is lots of traffic and lots of people.

  Melissa’s office was located in a converted house on Crestmore Avenue. This is a street full of houses that were once residential, but had been converted to offices in recent years. Most were very nice and Melissa’s office was one of the nicer ones.

  “May I help you,” the receptionist said as Bill and Carly walked in the door.

  The office had rich hardwood floors with an oriental throw rug. The large wing back chairs sat near the windows surrounded by end tables and plants. The receptionist sat at a large cherry desk with a nice matching credenza at her back.

  “We’re here to see Ms. Evers.” Carly said as she and Bill flipped their badges out for her to see.

  “I’ll tell her you’re here,” she said.

  “Hmmm, I wonder how long Ms. Bryant has known Ms. Evers,” Bill said as he picked up the nameplate on the receptionists desk.

  Just as Bill and Carly turned to sit, a tall blond in a very expensive looking suit, walked into the room. Her hair was pulled up in the back in one of those twist styles. She looked like someone who was trying to get respect for her brains, but her looks kept getting in the way.

  “I’m Melissa Evers, what can I do for you officers?” she said as she held out her hand.

  “I’m Detective Malone and this is Detective Martin. Is there someplace we could go to talk?” Carly said.

  “Sure, follow me.”

  They followed her into a conference room that had one of the most beautiful inlaid conference tables Bill or Carly had ever seen. It had six high backed chairs, upholstered in a nice dark green and maroon stripe. The green matched the dark green on the walls. It looked more masculine than they had expected, but it was tasteful and classic. It reminded Carly of one of the libraries you see in the movies where someone really, really rich lives.

  “Have a seat,” Melissa said as she took a seat at the end of the table. “Now, what can I do for you, detectives?”

  Carly and Bill looked at one another trying to figure out which of them Melissa would respond to best. Finally, Carly spoke up, “We’re investigating the Claire Booth disappearance and understand you worked in the office with Jerry Booth at one time. Is that correct?”

  “I assume you already know the answer to that question, otherwise why would you be here,” she stated, very matter of factly. “I also assume you already know about the letters.”

  “Yes, actually, we do,” said Carly.

  “Then what do you want to know? I’ll be glad to cooperate with anything that might get that sleezeball off the streets,” Melissa said, not trying to hide her disgust.

  “We’d like to know more about the letters, and about what happened after he was caught,” Bill jumped in.

  Melissa leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Carly thought Bill might just fall out of his chair as she crossed her long slender legs. Men are still men, even when they’re satisfied she thought chuckling inside.

  “I thought all this would be over by now. After all, it’s been almost four years since all that happened.”

  “I realize it’s been a long time, and that it’s something you’d just as soon forget, but we’d appreciate anything you can tell us,” Carly said sympathetically.

  “Oh, I don’t really mind, it’s just that it seems to keep popping up.” Melissa leaned forward again in her chair and leaned on the table. “The first letter just appeared on my desk one morning. As I read it, I quickly realized it was from some sicko.”

  Carly was trying to take notes as she thought of her next question. “What was the end result of this situation?”

  “He ended up settling the matter with me for $25,000 and resigning.”

  “How long after that did you leave the firm?” asked Bill.

  “I stayed on a couple of months after that and then decided the stares and unasked questions were just too much, so I left and started my own practice.”

  “Did Jerry pay up? And do you know if Claire knew about the settlement and the letters?” Carly asked as she wrote.

  “I don’t think Claire knew. The firm wanted to keep all of this mess hushed up. And no, Jerry hasn’t finished paying me. He still owes me five thousand dollars,” Melissa stood up and pushed in her chair. “I don’t expect I’ll ever see that money. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got an appointment.”

  “No problem. I think we have all the information we need,” Carly said standing up and pushing her chair in, too. “We’ll be back in touch if we think of anything else.”

  As they walked back to the car, Bill turned to Carly, “Well, that’s interesting. What if Claire found out about the mess at the firm? And the money? I guess that would be motive, huh?

  "Wel
l Bill, where do we go from here?" Carly said as she sat down in her chair.

  "I wish I knew. Chief Smith says we need to move on. Keep it on the back burner, but without any new leads, we should just move on with our other cases," Bill said with a big sigh. He didn't like not being able to solve his cases. Bill had solved a lot of cold cases since he'd been at Metro. He was like a dog with a bone, too. That was something he and Carly had in common. He didn't give up until he'd solved it, no matter how long it took and she was the same way. But this case was one he really wanted bad. He had kids and he didn't like the idea that the Booth kids' mom might have been knocked off by their dad. It was an injustice and Bill didn't like injustice. Neither did Carly.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  It was almost Christmas and Bill loved the Christmas holidays. It took a little sneekyness, but Bill always managed to be at Terry’s house on Christmas eve … and stay right through Christmas day. The kids loved waking up and having their mom and dad both there. And, truth be told, Terry loved it, too.

  Carly hated Christmas. She usually volunteered to work the Christmas shift since she didn’t have any family. Well, she had Maggie, but Maggie was usually either out of town or with her current love. So, Carly usually spent Christmas working.

  There was a judge in Nashville who always worked Christmas, as well. He was Jewish, so he and his wife always worked so that the other judges could take off and spend the day with their families. His wife made cookies for everyone who had to appear before him and he always seemed a little more lenient on that day.

  This year, though, Carly decided she didn’t want to be in Nashville. She was frustrated at having to essentially drop the Booth case and was sitting at her desk contemplating what to do and where to go when the phone rang.

  “Detective Malone.”

  “Detective, this is Ted Simon. I just wanted to let you know that Julie and I are heading down to Mexico again tomorrow to try to see the kids again.”