the shower curtain and the bathroom closet door. Oh, and the front doorknob and the bathroom light switch. Dylan came in, too, but I don’t think he touched anything.”
Dylan shook his head. “Nope.”
Binns frowned. “Fine. Nothing we can do about it anymore.”
A police cruiser drove up and parked at an angle, effectively cutting off any chance Dylan’s car had of getting out of its spot. Binns stalked away and gave some instructions to the responding officers. She pointed her finger at Casey. “Do. Not. Move.” She went into the house with the uniformed cops, and returned several minutes later. “So. What do you think?”
“I think Maria hightailed it out of town, and took her kids with her.”
“And this Richie person who supposedly lived here with her?”
“He must’ve gone with them.”
Binns sucked on her teeth and stared at the house.
“You were here before,” Casey said. “The night of Andrea’s murder. Did you see a man?”
“I didn’t come myself. We sent patrol officers to check it out. They woke her up from a sound sleep, and there was no mention of a man.”
“How would they know for sure she’d been sleeping? She could’ve been acting.”
“Her car was cold. She hadn’t used it.”
“What about taxis?”
“We checked those, just to cover our bases. No one admitted to picking her up or dropping her off.”
“So someone at the Flamingo would have needed to help her, if she was the one who killed Andrea.”
Binns breathed through her nose, and out again. “You’re making a huge leap between Ms. Mendez’s leaving and Ms. Parker’s murder.”
“Of course. Aren’t you?”
“Other than the fact that Ms. Mendez works at the Flamingo, and Ms. Parker lived there, I’ve got no evidence of anything tying them together. For all I know, Ms. Mendez left on a whirlwind vacation to Disney World, and we have no business being here at all.”
Whoops.
“Let me fill you in on a couple of things I’ve discovered.”
Binns’ expression was dangerous. “You’ve been holding out on me again?”
“Not on purpose. I mean, I haven’t seen you…Anyway, I found a note today in Andrea’s apartment—which your officers already went through and cleared, remember?” Casey felt her pocket before remembering she’d changed pants, and the note was back in her room. “It was to Andrea from Richie.”
“This Richie? Ms. Mendez’s Richie?”
“Yes. The same Richie who was the fitness instructor at the Flamingo two people before me.”
A light dawned in Binns’ eyes. “And what did this note say?”
“That Andrea was an angel for understanding, and she should give him a few weeks and he’d be back for her. He wanted to hold on a little longer, until he worked something out.”
“Worked what out?”
“Well, that’s something else you should probably know. Maria Mendez’s name is actually Melina Reynaldo. Her green card expired over a year ago, and she hasn’t been able to get it renewed.”
Binns opened her mouth, looked at Gomez, then back at Casey. “And you know this how?”
“I found a stash of folders with secrets about people at the Flamingo.”
“What?” Dylan exploded, reminding them all that he was still there. “Richie was blackmailing people?”
“No, not Richie. Brandon.”
“Wait a minute.” Binns’ forehead wrinkled. “This Brandon guy was the next fitness instructor, the one just before you, right? I checked him out. He got fired, but Mrs. Williams wouldn’t tell me anything except she had to let him go.”
“He was blackmailing Maria,” Casey said.
“Only her?”
“No. Several other women, as well. Or else he made women romantic promises, and they put him in their wills.”
“I can believe that, “Dylan said. “Women were all over him.”
Binns’ eyes were steely. “Why are you just now telling me this?”
“I’m sorry. I only found the folders yesterday. I forgot. But what I really need to tell you I just found out this evening. I tried to call you, and left a message at the police department, and on your voice mail.”
Binns frowned and pulled out her phone. “Sorry. I didn’t see it. What is it?”
Casey swallowed and glanced at Dylan. He raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Brandon Greer,” Casey said to Binns. “The guy who was blackmailing people? His name was actually Wayne Pritchfield. Nobody’s heard from him since he left the Flamingo. He was killed last night.”
Binns jerked her head, like a fly had landed on her face. “He was what?”
“Killed?” Dylan grabbed Casey’s arm to steady himself.
“Murdered. Somewhere close, but I don’t know what town. Stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.”
Binns blinked. “I think I heard about that. It was in Birmingham. They haven’t found the killer.”