“No matter what Harry Lee and I are involved in, it doesn’t change what Phoebe did.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Helms sighed and shook his head. “All I’m going to say is Harry realized he was working with the wrong partner. Tim was a screw up who’d eventually get caught. In a rare moment of clarity, Tim realized he might be in trouble and came to me. I would have told him to go pound sand again, but I wasn’t exactly killing it either. I overextended myself when things were booming, but fashion is fickle, and I ended up with a lot of crap no one wanted to buy. So, I made a deal with the devil; actually, two devils, if you count Tim. And here I am.”
“What did Harry Lee want just now?”
“To talk.”
“In his car?”
“He always does it that way. He figures no one is listening and if you say something he doesn’t like, he can always have Lucas drive out to the desert so Bobby can put a bullet in you.”
“Talk about what?”
“What do you think? He doesn’t want this murder coming back on him somehow. He wanted to remind me how important the silent was in silent partner. I must not have listened very well since I’m talking to you.”
“Like I said, I’m not here to trip you up over that. I’m just trying to solve a murder.”
“Why? It’s already solved. Phoebe killed them. If you knew Phoebe like I know Phoebe, you wouldn’t even be questioning it.”
“She’s a killer because you know she’s a killer?”
“That and the evidence. That dress of hers didn’t get Rita’s and Tim’s blood on it on its own.”
Margot couldn’t really argue with him on that point.
“Are you done messing up my day now? I’ve actually got work to do.”
Margot couldn’t really think of anything else to ask him, so she walked out.
Chapter 10
Margot called Radcliff while she walked to her car. “Is it possible the target was Rita?”
“Anything’s possible, but why?”
“It looks like her affair with Tim was more than a fling and it looks like she blurted out some things a certain mobster wouldn’t like.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past a guy like Harry Lee, but it didn’t seem like his style. People who get on the wrong side of him just disappear. That scene seemed personal and while he’s no doubt some kind murderous sociopath, Harry never seems to take anything personally.”
“You know who that leads back to you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, Phoebe. I guess it’s something to think about though. Dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Margot replied as she saw Harry Lee’s diminutive driver, Lucas, waiting by her car.
“So, bitch, you still want to find out if I can fight in your weight class?”
“Can I call you back? I’ve got an issue to deal with here,” Margot replied as she ended the call and dropped her phone in her purse.
“We doing this or what?” Lucas challenged her, gesturing with his arms. “You ready to find out what happens to bitches who disrespect me?”
“Seriously?”
“You were the one talking tough before.”
Margot knew fighting on the street was a bad idea in general, but the way this guy was running his mouth, she was considering it. Right then, someone tapped her on the shoulder and Margot turned just in time to take an uppercut from Harry’s thug Bobby right in the gut. The next thing she knew, she was doubled over on the ground.
“You kick her, Lucas and I do the same to you,” Bobby told the short guy getting ready to plant his size seven shoe into Margot’s ribs.
“What if I cut her? Just a little, so every time she looked in the mirror, she was reminded not to mess with us?”
Margot looked up and noticed he was holding a straight razor.
“Put that thing away,” Bobby told him.
Margot was trying to get herself up when Bobby took her purse. Harry’s Escalade pulled up and before she could do anything about it, Margot was pushed into the back seat. Harry scooted over and let Lucas drive.
“You kidnapping me Harry?” Margot asked after she caught her breath.
“No way. I just want to know why you’re following me.”
“I was actually following Helms. Where are we going?”
“Just for a nice drive. You seem to be in my business a lot lately, Margot. It’s making it hard for me to like you.”
“I guess being liked by you isn’t that high of a priority for me.”
“It should be. Do you think Mr. Helms killed Rita and Tim?”
“Honestly, he doesn’t seem the type.”
“Shit, bitch, you wouldn’t know the type if he was sitting right in front of you,” Lucas said.
“Would you please shut up?” Harry told his driver.
“Tim and Rita dying kind of worked out well for you though, didn’t it?” Margot asked.
“In what way?”
“Tim and Phoebe’s divorce would have put a microscope on your business with Tim. Rita threatening Tim about knowing where the bodies are buried probably didn’t sit well with you either, since you're working with both her husband and her lover.”
“I guess you’re right. Someone did me a favor, but I didn’t order it. If I had given an order, someone would be in trouble. That was a mess.”
“It’s probably good they did it that way, boss,” Lucas said. “Cops never even considered it could have been you.”
“Do I hire you to drive or talk?” Harry growled at Lucas.
“Sorry, boss. Just saying.”
“Don’t.”
Margot watched Lucas in the mirror. He looked like a sad puppy. She had a weird thought, but she kept it to herself.
“Look, Margot, I know you’re trying to help Phoebe and honestly, if I thought I could, I’d help
