The Body in the Apartment

by Judi Lynn

She wrinkled her nose. “We go to the movies once in a while when my parents babysit.”

  He removed his arm from around Jazzi to wander to the kitchen island and the cheese ball she put out every Sunday. “I’d take my wife out more often if she didn’t spend half the time we’re gone wondering if the kids are all right.”

  Jazzi smiled. It was fun listening to the two of them. Jerod might fuss, but he was as big of a homebody as Franny. His whole world revolved around his family. “You’re never going to get her out of the house when the baby’s here.”

  The back door opened and Mom and Dad entered the kitchen, along with Jerod’s parents—Eli and Eleanore. Mom beamed when she saw Franny.

  “I wondered if you’d make it this week. The baby’s due any day now, right?”

  “On the seventeenth,” Jerod answered.

  Dad’s brows rose. “Only four days away. Keep us in the loop when you head to the hospital.”

  Eli patted his son on the back. “Have you picked out a name yet for our new grandson?”

  “We have two choices. Franny wants to look at the baby and see which one suits him better.” That’s all he’d say about it. Ansel had tried to finagle the names out of him, too.

  Walker, Didi, and River walked into the kitchen next. They came to hang around the snacks on the kitchen island with everyone else. Soon, Radley came, then Gran and Samantha. Gran took a long look at Franny and said, “Wednesday.”

  “You’re sure?” Franny asked.

  “Late in the afternoon.” Then Gran went to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of red wine. She liked it cold. Every week, she drank a glass before the meal and at the end of the meal.

  Didi frowned at Walker, and he hurriedly explained, “Gran has the sight. If she says Wednesday, Franny will have the baby then.”

  Gran returned and took a sip from her glass before leveling her gaze on Didi. “Gil made poor choices of friends. He made poor choices in prison, too, and that’s part of what got him killed.”

  Didi gasped, and her hand went to her throat. Walker frowned, confused.

  Everyone turned to study her.

  Flushing, Didi said, “Gil was my ex-husband. Someone murdered him in prison.”

  Oh, crap. This was the first time poor Didi had met her family, and Gran’s announcement wasn’t the best way to start things off. Jazzi was trying to think of something to say to smooth things over when Olivia and Thane straggled into the house. Huge smiles were plastered on both of their faces.

  Ansel stared. “Okay, spill. What’s up?”

  Yeah, what was the deal? Thane had been crushed when he’d heard about Donovan. Jazzi had expected him to be depressed and brooding today.

  Olivia held up her left hand with a chunk of diamond on her finger.

  Mom let out a happy squeal. “Have you set a date?”

  “April second.” Olivia held out her arms, and she and Mom hugged each other.

  “Is that a Saturday?” Walker asked.

  “A Sunday.” Thane grimaced. “We didn’t want people to think our wedding was an April Fools’ joke.”

  “You’re not wasting any time.” Ansel went to bring him a beer and clinked glass bottles with him.

  Thane shrugged. “Olivia’s had the itch ever since you and Jazzi did the deed. I thought we should wait till the glow was off your wedding, but then Donovan was shot, and it shook me up. It kind of made me think I shouldn’t hold off on doing the things that are important to me.”

  “Well, we’re happy for you.” Radley raised his beer bottle in a toast, too.

  People lined up to slap Thane on the back and congratulate Olivia and him. Jazzi grabbed her sister in a fierce hug. Olivia had been more patient with Thane than she’d thought possible. Her go-get-‘em sister had dated the man forever, moved in with him, and still given him time to decide to commit. Jazzi was thrilled for her. When everything calmed down, Ansel said, “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

  Everyone laughed. The man loved his food almost as much as his pug did. Jazzi put two platters of brats and sauerkraut on the island, the crispy potatoes and baked beans, along with toasted buns and apple crisps. “Dig in,” she said.

  Walker helped River fill his plate while Jerod helped Gunther and Lizzie. Then the adults got in line. Buckets of ice held beer and wine bottles.

  It took a while for everyone to find a spot at the table, and then conversation flowed again. Radley looked around the group. “Where’s Bain?”

  “He came down and got a plate of food earlier. He wasn’t ready for such a big crowd,” Ansel said.

  Mom couldn’t stand not knowing. She returned to Olivia and Thane’s wedding plans. “Do you know what you want yet—a church wedding, a reception, big or small?”

  Olivia glanced at Jazzi. “We’d like to have a small church wedding so that I can wear a long wedding gown. Then we’d like to have the same kind of reception Jazzi and Ansel had. Maybe here? With a little different food? Not quite as expensive?”

  Dad smirked. “You mean you want Jazzi to make it all.”

  Olivia hesitated. “If Jazzi doesn’t mind. I can help out.”

  Ansel shook his head. “We’ve seen you cook. I’ll help out in the kitchen. And yes, we’d love to have the reception here.”

  “Is that all right with you, sis?” Olivia asked.

  Jazzi was glad Ansel was on board with the idea. “That will be our wedding present to you.”

  Olivia let out a long breath of relief. “Good, then the rest should be easy.”

  River finished his bratwurst and reached for his soda, then pointed a finger at Mom and Dad. “You’re married, right?”

  Mom nodded.

  “And you?” The finger pointed at Eli and Eleanore. They nodded. “You?” He moved to Jerod and Franny.

  “Yup,” Jerod told him.

  He came to Ansel. Ansel wrapped his arm around Jazzi’s shoulders. “Very.”

  “And you’re getting married?” he asked Olivia and Thane.

  “As soon as we can.” Thane sounded so proud, Olivia blushed with happiness.

  He turned to Radley. Ansel’s brother shook his head. “So far, no woman will have me.”

  Jazzi rolled her eyes. Radley was six-one and almost as handsome as Ansel. If he put himself on the market, there’d be a lot of takers.

  When he got to Gran and Samantha, he frowned.

  “Both widowed,” Samantha told him. “But we had long, happy marriages before our husbands died.”

  That seemed to satisfy him. He laid his hand on Walker’s arm. “You?”

  “I haven’t been lucky enough to find the right girl.”

  Then the boy looked at Didi.

  She pinched her lips together. “I got married when I was twenty, but Gil was gone more than he was home. He hung out with his friends a lot when we were dating, but I thought that would change when we got married. It didn’t. I didn’t like his friends. When they decided to rob a drugstore, they all went to prison together. That was it for me. I divorced him and I’ve been marriage shy ever since.”

  River’s eyes shone with fierce concentration, trying to put all of that together.

  “There are lots of good men out there,” Olivia told her.

  “I know. I just don’t seem to pick them.” Didi fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable.

  Ansel stood and started gathering dirty plates. “Pretty soon, Jazzi starts making cookies and homemade candy, one or two kinds a week, and freezes them for Easter. I get to sample them to make sure they’re good. I can’t wait.”

  “Is that your way of trying to change the subject?” Jerod stared at him.

  Ansel made a face. “I thought we should talk about something happier over dessert.”

  “Crappy technique,” Jerod told him, “but good idea.” He turned to Jazzi. “You make the sugar
and spice cookies for Easter, don’t you?”

  Why did he even bother to ask? “Have I ever not made your favorites? But I don’t make as many as I do for Christmas. I make more candy instead.” She loved making mounds of cookies for the Christmas tins she delivered every year.

  Didi leaned forward, excited. “I’ve always wanted to learn to make candy. Could I come sometime and watch you?”

  Jazzi stood to gather plates, too. “If you come, I’ll put you to work.”

  “Can I come? Please?” River asked.

  How cute was this kid? How could she say no? “Why not?”

  People started back to the kitchen island for dessert and Ansel took his place in front of gallons of ice cream and a scoop. “Tell me what you want.”

  Jazzi loaded the dirty plates in their deep sink and stopped to stare at George on her way back to the table. Ansel’s pug had found a nearly empty beer bottle someone set near the recycle bin. It must need emptying. Using his paws, he had the bottle tipped back and was drinking the small amount in the bottom. She shook her head. “Your dog’s drinking beer again,” she told Ansel.

  “Good boy!” Ansel patted his head on his way to the freezer to put away the leftover ice cream.

  The rest of the meal settled on small talk and catching up, and by the time people left, Jazzi had invited Didi back on Tuesday night to make chocolate crinkle cookies and cashew brittle.

  Alone during clean up, Ansel shook his head. “This meal was more eventful than most.”

  “I feel sorry for Didi.” Jazzi rinsed the last plate and handed it to Ansel to load into the dishwasher. “Her husband went to prison, then got murdered. And now someone’s breaking into her home.”

  “Hopefully the two aren’t connected.” Ansel folded the dish towel and draped it over the handle.

  Jazzi tried to shut off thoughts of prison and murder and went to settle on the sofa across from Ansel’s to relax and enjoy TV. They’d relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, they’d be back in New Haven, working on the Victorian house they were restoring. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Gil’s murder and Didi’s break-in. Were they connected? Was that a possibility? She’d have to mention it to Gaff.

  Chapter 7

  On Monday, George sat by Jazzi’s feet in the kitchen while she made sandwiches to pack for lunch at the New Haven Victorian they were flipping. The pug had a soft spot for deli ham. He liked beef and turkey, too, but when he smelled ham, she was his new best friend. The cats wound around her ankles, too. They never turned down scraps of ham either.

  Ansel took a bag of chips out of the cupboard to add to the cooler and shook his head. “They have you surrounded. You might as well surrender.”

  She handed him a slice of meat to tear into bites for George while she fed the cats. “Our pets would leave us if we became vegetarians.”

  He laughed. “I’d have to sneak out for meat fixes myself.” Her Norseman wasn’t a fan of meatless Mondays. She could be satisfied with spaghetti with sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes or noodles with mushroom sauce, but not Ansel. He’d tolerate them on rare occasions, but then he’d be hungry for a steak the next night.

  The cooler packed, she lugged it outside to his work van while Ansel carried George. They’d told Bain they were leaving and offered to make him a sandwich for lunch, but he was in a foul mood, so they’d left him to his own devices. He wasn’t used to sitting around a house all day. What he’d do to occupy himself, they had no idea.

  The wind had a bite when they trudged from the van to the Victorian. Snow was expected. Jazzi was hoping it would wait until after their Valentine dinner at The Oyster Bar, but they’d celebrated plenty of Valentine’s Days in crappy weather.

  The old house felt warm after being outside. As always, Jazzi scooted the cooler into a corner of the gutted kitchen, out of their way. The first thing they’d done was remove old cupboards, haul out dated appliances, and knock down walls. They’d installed heavy support beams to open up the entire ground floor. They were going to start hanging drywall today and finish the seams before moving upstairs and doing the same. Nothing in the house was worth saving except for the woodwork.

  Jerod came when she and Ansel were nailing up the first sheet of drywall. “Sorry I’m late. I served Franny breakfast in bed and got the kids ready for preschool and drove them there before coming here.”

  “Nice.” Jazzi was impressed.

  Jerod looked pleased with himself. “Since Gran said the baby was coming tomorrow, I thought Fran had better enjoy her last peace and quiet while she could.”

  After pounding in his last nail, Ansel turned to him. “Are you still making her supper tonight?”

  “Yup. The kids aren’t filet fans, so I bought a bag of frozen chicken tenders to make them.”

  Jazzi laughed. “When the kid food stage ends, they’re going to be more expensive to feed.”

  “Don’t I know it?” He tossed his winter coat over the stair railing and came to pitch in. The entire back wall was done when Jazzi’s cell phone rang.

  Pulling it from her back pocket, she blinked. “It’s Gaff.”

  The detective surprised her by saying, “I’m going to visit Donovan’s parents. I asked them a few questions when I told them about their son’s murder, but I’d like to talk to them again. Sorry, but they asked me to bring you with me.”

  “Me? I didn’t know Donovan and I’ve never met his parents.”

  “But you were there when Donovan stopped by Radley’s apartment, and you were the one who saw him stumble out into the second floor hallway after he’d been shot. And you know everyone else involved that day, and if I can solve this case, it would clear Bain. Besides, people seem to talk more when you’re with me. You’re able to make connections I can’t.”

  If he thought she might help, and it would clear Bain so that he could leave and go back to the farm, why not go with him? “Sure. When are you leaving?”

  Jerod and Ansel exchanged glances, and she knew they’d gauged what his call was about.

  “What if I pick you up at four?

  She covered the mouthpiece and asked, “Are we leaving here early tonight for Valentine’s Day? Gaff wants to pick me up at four.”

  Jerod nodded. “We’ll scoot out of here at three thirty. He can grab you from your place.”

  “I heard that,” Gaff said. “Works for me.”

  So much for covering her phone. “I have to be home by five thirty. Ansel and I have dinner reservations at seven.”

  “We’ll make this quick. I’m taking my Ann out for Valentine’s Day, too.”

  “Good. See you then.” She ended the call and shared Gaff’s information with the guys.

  Jerod glanced at the clock. “We have plenty of time to finish the side wall if we hustle.”

  “Then let’s hit it.” Ansel grabbed a piece of drywall, and they got busy again. By the time three thirty rolled around, the long side wall was done, and they called it a day. Jerod hustled to get to his van. It was cute how excited he was to cook for Franny.

  On the drive home, Ansel warned, “Don’t get so involved with Donovan’s parents you don’t give yourself time to change into something sexy for going out with me.”

  She grinned. “I’m ahead of you. I bought a new red dress for tonight.”

  “Red?” His blue eyes lit up. “You look good in red.”

  “I thought it worked to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I bought new heels, too. No snow yet, so I can walk in them.” She never wore the super high stilettos her sister Olivia sometimes did. She wasn’t graceful enough. She always felt like she might topple over. Ansel was tall enough that she could wear four inch heels if she wanted to and still be shorter than him if he held her elbow every minute to steady her.

  “Glad you don’t need boots this year.” The man had a thing about her legs. Last February had been so ic
y, she didn’t take risks. And it had been so cold, she’d worn dress pants so she wouldn’t freeze. Ansel would like this year better.

  “Is the dress low cut?”

  “Low enough.”

  He let out a happy sigh. “Life is good.”

  Maybe they could start out with a little touchy-feely before she left, but that idea was dashed when they approached their house and Gaff’s car was already in their drive. She grimaced. “Gaff’s early.” Then she reconsidered. “Maybe that’s a good thing. I should get home sooner.”

  Ansel must have been thinking along the touchy-feely lines, too, because he didn’t look happy either. “Oh, well, I’ll get to spend some time with Bain.”

  He didn’t sound thrilled about that. She didn’t blame him. Bain had been in a mood this morning. Hopefully, he’d settled down by now. She petted George and hopped out of the van. When she slid in beside Gaff, he waited for Ansel to pass him on his way to the garage before backing up to leave. “Thanks for going with me. I got the impression Donovan’s parents wanted someone to buffer my asking them questions.”

  “I can’t blame them. It has to be hard to talk about your son’s death.”

  Gaff drove to the southeast side of River Bluffs to a small subdivision of long ranch style houses. Everything was well kept, the homes and the yards. They pulled into the drive to a white house with a white stone front and black shutters. Jazzi followed Gaff to the door.

  A woman opened it before they rang the bell. She wiped her hands on her jeans. “I’m glad you got here so soon. The waiting makes me nervous.” She motioned them into a living room with pale green plush carpet and formal furniture. It didn’t look like anyone used it; it was so pristine.

  “The kitchen and family room are a mess,” she told them. “I just couldn’t make myself clean them. I feel so empty right now.”

  Jazzi reached out to touch her hand. “We’re so sorry for your loss.”

  The woman blinked back tears. She walked to a chair next to the recliner her husband was sitting in. “Thanks for coming with Detective Gaff. I’m Maureen and this is my husband Ray. I work as a school lunch lady and Ray drives a truck.”