Murder to Go

by Brenda Donelan

  “Um, I may have already found him.” Marlee detailed her introduction to Detective Hector Ramos and their encounters over the past couple days. “But I think Hector’s peeved at me since I talked with Ira Green instead of alerting him right away so he could question the dean.”

  “Do you think you have enough drama going on in your life right now?” asked Gwen. “Death, deception, and romance, all in one week’s time while you’re teaching a class. I’ve never had that kind of melodrama in all my years of teaching put together.

  The group of women was still laughing when the doorbell rang. Marlee scooped up the pile of money on the table and ran to the door to retrieve the pizza. She flung open the door and there stood Vince Chipperton.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Marlee growled at her ex-boyfriend.

  “I think there’s been a huge misunderstanding and I need to talk to you,” Vince said, peeking inside and seeing all of Marlee’s friends.

  “I have nothing to say to you. Go back home to Suzanne.” The heavy door slammed in Vince’s face. Marlee was proud of herself for not resorting to yelling or name calling while he stood on her step. She hated when the neighbors made a scene in their yards and she was determined to avoid looking trashy if she could.

  “He’s leaving!” shouted Diane, who had run into the living room and was peering out the living room window. “I can’t believe he didn’t try to defend himself. Or at least apologize. That guy’s a bastard! I never liked him!”

  Marlee laughed out loud at Diane’s reaction. “He saw you guys were all here and thought he’d get the beat down if he stayed any longer,” Marlee giggled. She was glad to have her friends around when matters of the heart were involved.

  “Who cares about him anyway?” Kathleen said. “You have a new guy and he sounds a lot more together than Vince.” The group moved back toward the dining room table and sat down again, raking Vince over the coals while they waited for their food delivery.

  The doorbell rang and Marlee again gathered up the cash and answered the door. The Dominoes delivery person stood holding an insulated red bag holding two large pizzas. Her friends all knew their way around each other’s houses, and by the time Marlee brought the pizza to the table, Shelly had retrieved plates and utensils from the kitchen. The doorbell rang again, just as Marlee was reaching for her second slice of pizza.

  “I have no idea who that could be. If it’s Vince I’m gonna rip his face off and hand it to him!” Marlee said, fortified with an additional margarita in her stomach and the support of her four best pals. She stomped toward the door and flung it wide open, ready to do battle.

  Standing on her step was Detective Ramos, looking more handsome than ever. “Hector, what are you doing here?” asked a slightly tipsy, greatly stunned Marlee.

  “I said I’d be in touch with you soon. Do you have something going on?” he asked, looking inside.

  “My friends and I are having pizza,” Marlee said, unsure if she should invite him inside or excuse herself from her friends and join Hector on the step.

  “Hey, Hector. Come on in!” shouted Kathleen. “Marlee was just telling us all about you!”

  The redness in Marlee’s face could have been from the three margaritas she had consumed, but most likely it was due to embarrassment since her sunburn had faded by now. She was at a loss for words, and that didn’t happen often.

  “Sure, I can come in for a bit,” Hector said confidently as he strode past Marlee and walked into the dining room. He introduced himself to the table of women, who were already charmed by his confident manner.

  “How about some pizza, Hector?” Gwen asked. “Do you want a margarita?”

  “Yes and yes. That would be great. Sorry to intrude on your get-together, ladies,” he said locating an extra chair in the corner and pulling it closer to the table.

  “How did you know where I lived?” Marlee was still in shock. She had not expected Hector to come to her house. As far as she knew, he was pissed at her for her for talking to Ira Green earlier that morning.

  “Um, I’m a detective. I have my ways,” he said as he waggled his eyebrows to the delight of the other women at the table who laughed uproariously at his comments and antics.

  Diane rounded the corner with an extra glass and poured Hector a margarita and then set a plate on the table next to Marlee’s chair. He pulled his chair to that location and sat down. He was comfortable in this situation and even seemed to be enjoying himself. Her friends were all having fun and liking the surprise visit by the handsome detective. The only one who was uncomfortable and mystified by what was going on was Marlee.

  Shelly reached for another slice of pizza and said, “This is the most entertainment I’ve had in quite a while.”

  Kathleen nodded. “It’s like dinner theater. I can’t wait to see who shows up next!”

  The women and Detective Ramos made small talk for a few minutes until Diane decided it was time to grill him about his past. “How long have you been divorced? Where do your kids live?”

  Hector looked up from his plate and stopped chewing. “I guess you really were discussing me before I got here,” he said with a smile, looking at Marlee as she continued to get redder and redder.

  “Your name may have come up in conversation,” Marlee mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

  Hector grinned at her and turned back to the questions at hand. “I was married when I was 18. Shotgun wedding, if you know what I mean. We were married for 19 years and when the kids left home we found out we really didn’t have anything in common anymore so we divorced. I’ve been divorced for twelve years now.”

  Marlee closed her eyes and attempted to figure out Hector’s age. Math wasn’t her strong suit on a good day and especially not when she’d had a few drinks. The detective, surmising what she was doing, leaned over and whispered, “Forty nine.”

  “Uh, what?”

  “I’m forty-nine years old. Isn’t that what you were trying to figure out?” he gave her a rakish grin. “And to answer the question Diane asked about my kids, Shelby is thirty and lives in New Mexico and Marco is twenty-six and lives in Milwaukee.”

  “Are you a grandpa yet?” Diane asked.

  “Nope. Shelby’s married, but doesn’t seem interested in having kids. Who knows what Marco will do?” Hector said. “Now, any other questions?”

  Diane scooted her chair up to the table as if to continue on with the interrogation. Marlee, sensing that this could go on indefinitely, said, “I think that’s enough questions for now.” The group chatted for another hour before Diane, Kathleen, Shelly, and Gwen decided to leave.

  “Whew, I didn’t think they’d ever leave!” Hector said after the group filed out of the house. He grabbed Marlee and gave her a big bear hug. “I missed you.”

  After a smooch fest, Marlee and Hector talked about the investigation. “I had a message from Ira Green on my answering machine when I got home this afternoon. He said he’d meet with both of us tomorrow. I guess he’ll call back with a time and location.”

  “That’s good. Did he say where he was at?”

  “Nope, just that he was coming back to Elmwood and would be able to meet with both of us on Saturday night. No idea what’s bringing him back to Elmwood.” Marlee scrunched up her face as she pondered what it was that might be bringing him back.

  “He didn’t say why he was coming back? Was it just to talk to us or did he mention another reason?” Hector inquired.

  “Ira didn’t mention anything, but now I’m wondering if he plans to make contact with the child he had with Roxie. According to Roxie’s diary, her child was a student at MSU. That rules out the three students attending USD. I talked with Marcus and even though he’s adopted, his back story didn’t match up with Roxie’s diary. He has a sister adopted by the same family. It doesn’t make sense that Roxie would try to locate one child she gave up for adoption but not the other.” Marlee stopped to take a breath.

  “So that leaves the other six s
tudents from the Criminal Justice To Go class,” Hector stated. “Any thoughts on which of them it could be?”

  “Johnny Marble is my guess,” Marlee said. She relayed her thoughts about the Stone sisters as well as Dominic, Dom, and Jasper.

  “Well, I think we need to rule them out for sure,” Hector said. She liked that he said we, meaning that she was a crucial part of the investigation.

  “They should all be around town since they have to meet for the final day of class on Monday. I can do some checking and we can talk to them,” Marlee said.

  Hector nodded in agreement. “I tracked down the addresses before I got here and thought it would be a good idea to go check on them tomorrow.”

  “You’re way ahead of me, Hector,” Marlee said with a smile even though she was a bit peeved that he’d already thought of this. “Did you find out any more about the poison used to kill Roxie?”

  “Yeah, the results came back and it was ethylene glycol. It has a sweet taste and she wouldn’t have had any idea it was slipped into her drink. Somebody had access to whatever Roxie was drinking and put it in when she wasn’t looking.”

  “That would’ve been hard to do because Roxie drove alone to the locations and had her own room. The only person I know for sure that would’ve had any alone time with Roxie is Ira Green,” Marlee said.

  “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. I know you believe Green’s story, but I like him for the murder. He had the motive, which was revenge for losing his job. He had the opportunity because you saw Green leaving Roxie’s room the night before she died and he admitted it to you too. He has a PhD in biochemistry, so he knew all about poison and what types could be slipped into a drink and not be tasted,” Hector said, laying out his case.

  Marlee thought for a moment. Although Hector made a strong case for Ira Green’s guilt, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was really innocent. The facts pointed to his guilt, but her gut instinct told her otherwise. “I just don’t know,” she said shaking her head. “It’s not like the killer had to be a genius in chemistry to pull this off. Basic information on poison is easily available on the Internet.” They both pondered that thought for a minute, neither voicing their opinions.

  “We’ve been going with the theory that Roxie was killed either by her child or by Green. What if someone else did it? Someone who has no connection to either Green or the child she gave up for adoption?” Marlee asked, breaking the silence. The more they discussed the case the more confusing it became.

  “Could be anyone. Who else would have a motive besides Green or Roxie’s child?” Ramos inquired.

  “None of the students I talked to seemed to know much of anything about Roxie. Those that had her in previous classes said she never talked and didn’t mingle before or after class. Have you checked the library to see what they know about her?”

  “Of course, but they had much the same experience. Roxie was a good worker, but kept to herself and didn’t speak to anyone unless they started the conversation. She didn’t hang out with any of the other work-study students, which isn’t too surprising since they’re all quite a bit younger than her. Roxie didn’t have any friendships with the librarians or support staff who are all closer to her age.” Ramos reported.

  “What leads are you following on this trip to Elmwood?”

  “Tomorrow I’m going to her apartment building to talk to her neighbors. Maybe somebody there knows something about her. I can’t believe she’s a complete mystery to everyone. Roxie mentioned a guy named Pete in her diary. I don’t know if he lives in Elmwood, but thought I’d try locating him too. Plus, there’s another very important lead I want to follow,” Ramos said, as he moved closer to Marlee on the couch, a devilish smile on his lips.

  Who do you listen to…the angel or the devil?

  Chapter 17

  It was nearly 1:00 a.m. when Marlee shoved Hector out of her house. He told her earlier that he booked a room at the Super 8 motel, but wasn’t showing any indication of leaving as the clock struck midnight. “Time for you to leave, Buster. I have to get my beauty rest,” Marlee said, grabbing Hector’s hand to pull him up from the couch where they’d been sitting.

  “Maybe I’ll have one more margarita before I leave.”

  “No, I don’t think so. We don’t want you getting a DUI. The Elmwood cops love to arrest drunk drivers. I think it’s their main form of entertainment since not many other crimes happen here. Well, except for a couple of murders…”

  Hector got up from the couch with a reluctant sigh and allowed Marlee to steer him toward the front door. “Ok, see you tomorrow,” he said as he gave her a long kiss.

  Marlee smiled as she closed the door behind the detective. It would’ve been very easy to let him stay overnight, but she wasn’t quite ready to move things along that quickly. She moved about the house, picking up empty margarita glasses, crumpled napkins, and used plates. A pizza box on the kitchen table was closed and she grabbed it to throw in the trash when she heard and felt some movement. Opening it up, Marlee saw one slice left. I don’t want to throw it away, but it seems pointless to put it in the fridge. One piece of pizza isn’t much of a meal. It was more like an appetizer, really. With her decision made, Marlee grabbed the remaining slice and took a bite. I don’t want my energy to get low while I’m trying to figure out who poisoned Roxie.

  Marlee thought sleep would be evasive that night since she was amped up over the new developments with Hector and their discussion of the murder investigation. Sheer exhaustion won out and she was asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow. A beach scene appeared in her dreams and she saw herself sitting in a striped lounge chair under a large umbrella reading a book. Marlee felt the cool breeze skipping off the water and onto her pale face. Her left foot swung off the side of the chaise, her toes squishing in the sand. She reached for the icy mojito next to her when—

  BANG BANG BANG!

  Marlee jumped out of bed, still halfway in dreamland. “What the hell was that?” she shouted out loud.

  BANG BANG BANG!

  Marlee realized someone was pounding on her front door. Jeez, didn’t the idiot see there was a doorbell? She flung open the door without looking out the window first to see who was there.

  Hector Ramos stood before her, grinning, with two cups of coffee and a bag from Bagel House in his hand. “Morning, Sunshine!”

  “What the hell, Hector! What time is it? And why didn’t you ring the doorbell?” Marlee became self-conscious when she realized she was wearing an old Guns n’ Roses concert t-shirt, flannel shorts, and fuzzy socks; her usual sleep attire.

  “It’s eleven-thirty, and I’ve been ringing your doorbell. Didn’t you hear it?” Hector walked in and set down the coffee and bag on the coffee table.

  Marlee remembered her doorbell had been working intermittently, as she had been advised by and irritated Diane a couple weeks ago when she called Marlee from outside the door. “Uh, I think it might need fixing.”

  Hector tilted his head and looked at her, still grinning. “You’re really not a morning person, are you?” He handed her a cup of coffee which she gratefully accepted.

  “Thanks, I think I’ll hop in the shower. Make yourself at home. I won’t take long,” Marlee said, not sure if she was going to like Hector’s pop-in visits. She might have to have a word with him about calling first so she could be prepared.

  “If you need any help in there, just let me know,” Hector said, laughing as he reached for the TV remote.

  Marlee selected clothes and took them into the bathroom with her. She looked into the mirror while brushing her teeth and was mortified to see her curly hair dented on one side and sticking straight out on the other. There’s nothing I can do about it now. Within twenty minutes, she was showered, dressed, and even put on a small amount of makeup, hoping to redeem her image from her pre-shower greeting with Hector.

  Her hair was wet, but drying it in this humidity would just make it frizz. Elmwood was dry in the winter mont
hs, leaving the residents with itching skin, dry hair, and chapped lips for months on end. The summer months were characterized by humidity which caused the curly haired residents to resemble Bozo the clown.

  Sashaying into the living room wearing her jean capris and a mint green V-neck t-shirt, Marlee found Hector sprawled out on the couch with one foot up on the coffee table. The television was on and he was watching an old Law & Order episode. He sure seems to make himself at home. Marlee wasn’t sure how she felt about his invasion of her personal space.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Marlee asked.

  “Just waiting for you. I already went to Roxie’s apartment this morning and talked to a few of her neighbors. They didn’t know anything about her, and had no idea who the Pete was that she mentioned in her diary.”

  “What did Roxie write about Pete? Do you think that was his real name or was she using some kind of code?” Marlee asked, recalling that Roxie had referred to her baby as X.

  “I don’t know if it was a real name or not. She mentioned getting together with Pete a few times, mostly at restaurants, but I couldn’t tell what the nature of their meeting was. It really didn’t sound romantic, but she didn’t mention any type of business they might have had either. It sounded more like Pete was a confidant,” Hector said, taking the bagels and containers of flavored cream cheese out of the bag and setting them on the coffee table.

  Marlee sat next to Hector as they ate in silence, both trying to make sense of the details in their minds. “I think we should track down Johnny Marble and talk to him today,” Marlee said.

  “I do too. I found his address. He lives off-campus in an old apartment building to the north of the university. Tell me what you know about this kid.”

  “I know he’s good friends with Violet and Paula Stone. They shared motel rooms on our trip last week. I don’t think there’s anything romantic between Johnny and either of the Stone sisters, but he did have hickies on his neck Friday morning. From what I remember, they’re all from the same home town and are just friends. Johnny is a criminal justice major and is a fairly good student. I think he could work a little harder than he does, but he gets decent grades, shows up for class, and turns in his papers on time.” Marlee searched her mind for any other details she knew about Johnny Marble.