A Witness in Disguise (Sarah Woods Mystery Book 10) Read online

  She waddled toward me, a donut in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. “Good morning, Ms. Woods. You’re back,” she said with a wide smile. “Did you speak to Maria Lopez yesterday?”

  “Yes,” I replied. “I was able to catch up with her down in the lobby. Thanks again for helping me out with that.”

  “Sure, anytime.” She placed the coffee on the counter and took a bite of her donut. “Sorry to be rude but I haven’t had a chance to eat breakfast. I’m starving.”

  “No problem, don’t let me stop you. The reason I stopped by is to find out what time you left here last night.”

  “Hmm, let me think.” She repeatedly tapped her chin with a finger. “I think I left around seven thirty… but maybe it was a little later. Why do you ask?”

  “Did Mr. Hart have any visitors last night?”

  She shook her head. “No, Maria Lopez was the last person but, as you know, that was earlier in the day. Besides, all visitors have to sign in at the front desk and their names are logged into the system. I check it every morning and Maria Lopez was the last visitor for Mr. Hart.”

  “Okay, is it possible that someone could have slipped past the lobby and arrived on the third floor without signing in last night?”

  She seemed at a loss for words as she stood there, a half-eaten donut in her hand. “Gosh, I don’t know. Why? What’s going on?”

  I hesitated, wondering just how much I could tell her. “Let me ask you a question. How hard would it be for a non-employee to log onto one of the computers and send an email?”

  “They’d have to know the password and it changes every few weeks.”

  “Have you given out the password to anyone recently?”

  “No,” she said, hesitantly. “Did something happen? Is Mr. Hart in danger?”

  “I don’t think so but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an extra eye on him. Are there security cameras on this floor?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but you’d have to speak with someone downstairs about that.”

  “My partner is working on it as we speak. Could you please do me one more favor?”

  “Okay.”

  “I need you to log onto the computer here and tell me what the IP address is.”

  She shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what that is.”

  “Easy, you just type into Google, what’s my IP address and it will give you the number. I need to see if it matches the email that was sent to Mark last night.”

  Sue-Ann hurried over to the station and logged on. She typed the question into Google, then read the numbers to me out loud as I wrote them in my notebook.

  “Thank you so much,” I said just as my cell phone beeped, letting me know I had a text. It was from Carter. Meet me back at the car.

  “Who is that?” Sue-Ann asked, pointing at my phone.

  “It’s my partner. I have to head out.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I owe you big time.”

  As I walked back to the elevators, I could feel Sue-Ann’s eyes on the back of my head but I resisted the urge to turn around. I hoped I hadn’t freaked her out too much.

  When I got back to the Buick, Carter was perched on the rear bumper, talking on the phone. A minute later, he ended the call and rose to his feet. “I have some good news. I just talked to the head of security and he’ll allow us to view the video surveillance from last night. He’ll be back in the office in an hour.”

  “Great. Sue-Ann gave me the IP address from the computer at the nurses’ station near George’s room.” I showed him the page in my notebook. “Check to see if it’s a match.”

  Carter took out the email and compared the numbers. “Yes, it’s the same computer. We’re getting very close to finding out what’s going on, Sarah. Nice work.”

  When we returned to the security office, the director showed us to a private room where several dozen monitors were placed side by side. It appeared as though the screens were showing real time surveillance. I could see patients and staff wandering the halls in various locations throughout the building.

  “We’re interested in viewing the closest camera you have to room 258 on the third floor.” Carter said. “For last night between 7:30 and 8:30pm.”

  “No problem,” the man said, typing into the keyboard. “That would be camera seventeen. Give me a second, here.”

  It took longer than a second but, eventually, the camera switched and showed the footage; the time stamp read: H 1950.

  “Could you fast forward through the hour?” Carter asked him. “We believe the person made the email around 8:00.”

  As we watched the footage in fast motion, the only people that could be seen in the hallway at that time were a few nurses and Sue-Ann. To our surprise, the only person using the computer at exactly 8:00 was Sue-Ann.

  “Okay,” I said. “That’s interesting. Sue-Ann told me she left last night around 7:30 but this proves otherwise.”

  Carter looked at me. “What are you saying?”

  My mind began to reel. “I don’t know what this means. I think I’d like to go upstairs and ask her why the hell she’d send Mark Gillespie an email, claiming to be Meagan. ”

  Chapter 15

  When Carter and I got to the third floor, Sue-Ann was nowhere in sight. I found Holly, the nurse I had met earlier.

  “Have you seen Sue-Ann?” I asked her. “She was here just an hour ago.”

  Holly nodded. “Yes, she left about twenty minutes ago, said she wasn’t feeling well. You’re Sarah Woods, right?”

  “Yes, why?”

  Holly reached into her pocket and handed me an envelope. “Sue-Ann asked me to give this to you. I guess she knew you’d be back looking for her.”

  I took the envelope and thanked her. “Holly, would you happen to know what Sue-Ann’s last name is or where she lives? Or maybe a phone number where I could reach her?”

  “No, sorry. You could go downstairs and ask someone in staffing. They might be able to help you.”

  I waited until Carter and I got into the elevator before I opened the envelope. Inside was a hand written note from Sue-Ann.

  Meet me at the Holbrook Library. I’ll explain everything.

  “What in the world is going on?” I said. “How is Sue-Ann mixed up in all of this?”

  Carter could only shake his head in astonishment. “I don’t trust this woman. What if this is some kind of trap?”

  “It’s a public place. I think it’s worth going there to find out what she has to say.”

  “What do we even know about her? She’s a volunteer at an assisted living facility, but what else?”

  “She must be from the south because of her accent but I never thought to ask where?”

  As we exited the building and made our way through the parking lot, Carter looked up the address for the Holbrook Library.

  As it turned out, the library was just a mile down the road toward the downtown area. The place didn’t appear to be very busy at one o’clock in the afternoon. There were only two cars in the lot - a white Toyota and a Maroon minivan - also a bicycle.

  As we walked in the front door, a woman sat behind a desk clicking away on the keyboard of her computer. She looked completely bored and, I imagined, she was probably playing online solitaire. She didn’t even acknowledge us.

  I often wonder if libraries will eventually become obsolete, like brick and mortar bookstores. With all the e-books, tablets and phones, one can download any book or magazine he or she wants within seconds. As much as I love my Kindle, the thought of no more libraries or bookstores just seemed wrong.

  Thankfully, the place wasn’t very big and we had only two choices, go left or right. To the left appeared to be the children’s section and a young woman was reading a picture book to her toddler, so we took a right. As we wandered through the aisles of literary fiction, I finally caught a view of Sue-Ann’s auburn hair. I nudged Carter’s arm and he followed my lead.

  Sue-Ann was sitting at a small table with an old volume of Nancy D
rew in her hands. She looked up from the book and stared at us as we approached. “I’ve been waiting. I thought you might not come.”

  I caught my breath when it dawned on me that Sue-Ann’s southern accent was gone. “Who are you?” I asked. “Why did you send Mark Gillespie that email last night?”

  “Lower your voice, please. We’re in a library.”

  Carter and I sat down at the table. She closed the book and set it aside. Then she removed her glasses and looked at us. For the first time, I noticed how blue her eyes were.

  “You’re right, I did send Mark the email,” she said. “It was for his own good. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him.”

  I heard her words but they made no sense at all. Carter seemed completely baffled, too.

  “Who else knows you’re here?” she asked. “Did you contact the police about the email?”

  “Nobody knows we’re here,” I replied. “And we didn’t mention the email to anyone.”

  Sue-Ann shook her head in disappointment. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I really thought Mark would obey my wishes after he got the email last night.”

  “Where is Meagan?”

  “Meagan is dead,” Sue-Ann said, matter-of-factly.

  “What?” I said. “How do you know this?”

  “Because I killed her.” She splayed her arms out alongside her body. “Meagan is gone and all that’s left is what you see now. ”

  I had no idea what she was talking about and, by the look on Carter’s face, he was just as clueless as I was.

  Sue-Ann chuckled. “Yeah. I know it’s hard to believe. I gained forty pounds in three months, cut my hair and dyed it red and got silicone injected into my face.”

  “Okay, wait,” I said, my head still spinning. “Am I supposed to believe that you are Meagan Hart?”

  “Yes.”

  Carter—usually unfazed by most things—stared at Meagan in disbelief. “Why did you stage your own abduction?”

  “I didn’t stage my own abduction. Not exactly.”

  I had no idea what to say. My brain could barely comprehend that this woman sitting in front of me, was the same adorable blonde haired girl in the photo I’d been carrying around with me for the past three days. The transformation was remarkable. “In the note, you said you’d explain everything, so here we are.”

  Meagan folded her hands on the table and cleared her throat. “First of all, I should thank Mark for hiring you guys, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have figured out why Cliff Collins tried to kill me.”

  My chest tightened. “Cliff Collins? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t you believe me?”

  “Why go to all the trouble to change your identity?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just go to the police?”

  “Because it was just a stupid fender bender. His car barely got a scratch.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Back up a little. Did the fender bender take place before or after you had the consultation with him?”

  Meagan furrowed her brows. “What consultation? The first time I ever met Cliff was after the accident.”

  “So you never went to his office and asked about getting a restraining order against someone?”

  “No,” Meagan said, clearly confused. “Is that what he told you?”

  “Yes. He also told us that you two had coffee together. You invited him back to your house to watch a movie.”

  Meagan closed her eyes and shook her head. “He’s a really good liar but what else would you expect from a lawyer.” When she opened her eyes again, there was fear behind them. “I’m not surprised the cops believed him, which is exactly why I couldn’t trust them to help me.”

  “Start from the beginning,” I said. “Tell us exactly what happened on that night.”

  “I was heading home from work around 5:00. I stopped at the grocery store, ran a few errands and started heading home around 6:45. I’ll admit, I wasn’t paying attention to the road because my cell phone had fallen off my lap and I was trying to reach for it. I wasn’t going very fast to begin with but it was too fast for the traffic stopped at the red light. I rear ended his car but, like I said, it wasn’t a big deal. We both pulled off to the side of the road and got out to assess the damage. His car had just a few scrapes and a minor dent, probably a few hundred bucks at the most. Cliff was actually really cool about it. He was very polite but he seemed like he was in a hurry. He said it wasn’t worth contacting our insurance companies. I felt badly as the accident was my fault. I didn’t think it was fair that he should have to pay for the damages that I caused. He assured me that it was not a problem but I insisted on giving him my insurance information. That’s when I noticed there was someone lying down in the back seat of his car. He looked like he was sleeping. I even made a comment to Cliff, surprised his friend hadn’t woken up after the accident. Cliff started acting all weird and told me his friend wasn’t feeling well. It never crossed my mind that the guy might be dead and then you showed me that picture of Graham Taylor.”

  “Are you positive that it was Graham?” I asked.

  “Ninety percent sure. ”

  “Okay,” I said. “What happened next?”

  “He got back into his car and drove off. I went straight home. An hour later, I was getting ready to watch a movie in bed when I looked up and saw Cliff standing in my doorway. I hadn’t even heard him come in the house. I froze because I had no idea why he was there. The next thing I know he’s lunging toward me. He grabbed my head and threw me back onto the bed. I thought for sure he was going to rape me; I figured that’s why he was there. Instead of ripping off my nightgown, however, he grabbed a pillow and tried to suffocate me. At first I tried to fight him but I realized he was too strong for me. I stopped fighting and went limp, pretending I was passed out. I figured if he thought I was already dead, he’d just leave but no, he picked me up off the bed and carried me out of the house into the backyard. He kept walking and I realized what he intended to do. He was either going to bury me alive, or he was going to dump me in the river. Thankfully, he chose the latter.”

  I shook my head, trying to imagine it. “He probably figured the water would wash away his fingerprints or DNA.”

  She nodded. “It’s hard to explain how I felt. It was like a horrible nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from but, when I went under the water, I could feel my legs begin to move again. I let the current take me downstream to an area where the vegetation is thick but fairly shallow. I was able to grab a branch and hold onto it tightly, keeping my mouth just above the surface of the water. That’s where I waited and nearly froze to death. I have no idea how long I stayed submerged as the bugs buzzed around my face. I thought I might go insane but I had no idea if Cliff was still waiting to make sure I didn’t surface. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled myself up into the bank, climbed onto a rock and that’s when I heard the sirens. I headed back to the house and hid behind a tree. Cliff was still there, talking to the police. I had no idea what he was telling them, but I could tell he was friendly with them.”

  When Meagan stopped talking, I realized that I had been holding my breath. The fact that everyone had believed Cliff’s elaborate lie, including me, made my blood boil. “What did you do?”

  “I panicked. I mean, I thought about walking right up to the police soaking wet and telling them the truth. Something stopped me from doing that. They probably would think I was crazy. They would never believe it was all because of a stupid fender bender.”

  I was starting to get the picture and everything began to fall into place. “Cliff was afraid you’d eventually figure out who the guy was in his back seat, and that you might go to the police when the man was reported missing, or his body was found. He couldn’t take that risk. But why didn’t he just put Graham in the trunk?”

  “Because,” Carter chimed in. “Have you ever seen a Porsche’s trunk before? You can barely fit a suitcase in there, let alone an adult sized body.”
/>   “Good point.” I turned back to Meagan. “What did you do when you saw Cliff talking to the cops?”

  “I waited in the woods for nearly an hour, freezing my ass off, waiting for them all to leave. I supposed they were checking for prints and stuff like that. Anyway, after they all left, I went back to the house to find that my cell phone and laptop were gone. I wasn’t sure if the police took them, or Cliff. I remembered I had kept my father’s cell phone and it was still inside my desk drawer. I hadn’t shut off the service after he went to live at Holbrook, so I called Lizzy and told her to meet me at the gas station down the street. I changed into some dry clothes, threw a few items into a backpack, and headed out.

  “So Lizzy picked you up at the gas station?” I said.

  “Yes. She and Neal brought me back to their house. After I explained what happened, they tried to convince me to go to the police station and finally I agreed. They drove me there and, as we approached the station, we saw Cliff standing outside, talking with a police officer. They actually looked as if they knew each other - old buddies or something. Then it occurred to me that maybe Cliff had friends in the department. Keep in mind, I didn’t even know what Cliff’s name was or what he did for work at that point. He could have been a cop for all I knew. It wasn’t until the next morning’s article in the online paper, that I found out what his name was and that he was lawyer.”

  I let out a long breath, still trying to comprehend this mess. “So you’ve been staying with Lizzy and Neal for the past three months?”

  “I cut my hair and dyed it red. Neal took me to his office and gave me some injections to alter my face. It didn’t take long to gain the weight with all the donuts I’ve been eating.”

  “You can’t live like this forever,” I said. “Cliff Collins needs to pay for what he did to you.”

  “But I have no proof that he ever tried to kill me. It’s just my word against his.”