I quickly looked around and saw no one suspicious. Meri poked his head out of my bag, and when he saw the shredded tires, he jumped down to examine them. I put the beer in the back seat of the car, and got in to review the car’s sentry report.
There were little cameras all around the car, and anytime there was a security issue, like someone who didn’t have the keycard on them got close to the vehicle, it would start recording. So, the guy who slashed the tires was on the recording, but he was wearing a black hoodie and face mask. I couldn’t even get a good look at his eyes because he looked away from the car as he repeatedly stabbed my tires with a stiletto knife he’d pulled from his hoodie pocket.
I called Thorn on his cell phone and told him what happened. “Go back in the store and wait for me,” he said into the phone.
“I’m going to wait in the car,” I said. “I’ll lock the doors, and I’ve got Meri with me.”
“All right, hold tight,” he said.
Thorn arrived in the parking lot five minutes after I called him, and I had to wonder how fast he’d driven to get to me.
“Are you okay?” he asked after jumping out of his cruiser. I’d left my car when I saw him pulling into the lot and was waiting next to my driver’s door with Meri at my feet.
“I’m fine,” I said. “The car is the only victim. I have a video recording of the guy who did it in the car’s security system, but I’ve already looked. You can’t see his face clearly.”
“Can you send that to me anyway?” Thorn asked.
“I can, and I think Tucker, the wine shop owner has security cameras, but I haven’t been in to speak with him about it.”
“What are you doing here?” Thorn asked.
“There’s import beer in the back seat for you. Would you believe that’s the only reason I came here?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” Thorn said with a chuckle. “Not considering the owner was dating the dead woman.”
“I went in to the Bootique Bed & Breakfast to ask the owner, Karen, if Jeremy was there the other day to talk to her about Pepper’s case. He wasn’t, but she did mention that she’d seen him twice that day. The other time was here at Utterly Uncorked, so I wanted to speak to Tucker, the owner, and see if maybe he was the killer…” I said.
“Why were you at Bootique when Jeremy was there?” Thorn asked. He’d stopped taking the police report and wasn’t writing down anything about me investigating Pepper’s case.
“Azriel stayed there when he was in town, and he hadn’t paid his bill. It got back to me. Apparently, Karen needed the money, so I paid it. And while I’m being totally honest, I used going back to Bootique to see if he’d left anything behind as a ruse to get her talking about Jeremy’s visit,” I said and bit my bottom lip.
“So, you don’t really care if he left anything behind or not?” Thorn said.
“I don’t,” I said. “Do you believe me?”
“I do, Kinsley. I believe you, so let’s finish this report about your tires and get home. Let me go talk to Tucker and see if his security camera picked up anything helpful,” Thorn said.
I followed him into the store and waited while they talked. Tucker seemed sorry that it had happened in his parking lot, and he immediately let Thorn into his office to go over the security footage.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help. You could see even less of the guy’s face on the footage from the building’s cameras. He’d known they were there and made sure to never even look in that direction.
Chapter Ten
We were at home, cleaning up the dinner dishes, when there was a knock at the front door. A loud one. The kind when you just know it’s the police.
Well, the sheriff’s office around Coventry.
I went to the front window and looked out with Thorn right on my heels. That even got Tangerine up from her nap. She let out a few yippy barks before I told her to hush, and she settled back down.
“It’s Jeremy,” I said as I watched him raise his hand to knock again. “Do you think we’re in trouble? About the other day?”
“No, but let me handle him,” Thorn said. “If he’s coming by without calling first, it must be important.”
“Or he’s surprising us so he can arrest us,” I said.
“Kinsley, don’t panic. Stay in the house and let me handle him,” Thorn said, and his voice did stay calm.
“All right,” I said.
Thorn stepped outside instead of inviting Jeremy in, and I stayed at the window so I could listen. Hangman’s House had old windows, so I could hear what people were saying on the porch if I stayed right by glass.
“I thought I would come fill you in on something I just found out about Peppermint Howard’s death,” Jeremy began. “I know you’re not technically on the case, but I also know that you’re still… interested.”
“Please, go ahead,” Thorn said.
“We got a preliminary tox screen back, and it picked up arsenic in her system. Not enough to kill her, but it seems that whoever had been giving it to her had been doing it for a while,” Jeremy said. “So, my theory is that someone close to her had been trying to kill her that way, and perhaps they got tired of waiting.”
“That rules out Remy Skeenbauer,” Thorn said. “I hope that you’d already put that to bed, but if you hadn’t then now is the time to officially clear him.”
I loved Thorn for sticking up for my Dad first and foremost.
“You’re right,” Jeremy said. “We found no connections at all between him and Pepper, so it couldn’t be him. I hope that you and Kinsley know that I was never seriously considering him, but I had to do my job.”
“I know,” Thorn reassured him. “Just put the word out on the street that Remy is clear, okay? Do that for me. You know how gossip in this town can be.”
“Yes, and I know how that family… your new family can be when you wrong them. Trust me, Thorn, I’ll get the official word out,” Jeremy said.
“Thank you,” Thorn said.
“I heard Kinsley had some trouble at Utterly Uncorked today. Is she all right?” Jeremy asked.
“She is,” Thorn said. “It won’t hurt to put new tires on her car anyway. I’m upgrading them to something safer.”
I rolled my eyes at that, but I loved him for it.
“Well, I’m glad, and have her call Reggie. I think she heard and is worried too, but she had to go over to the nursing home after work. Otherwise, I’m sure she would have called Kinsley herself already,” Jeremy said.
“Will do,” Thorn said. “So, what’s next with the case? Are you going to take another look at the boyfriend?”
“He’s in the clear for sure. We’re branching out to anyone else she may have had regular contact with. I’m starting with her coworkers. I’ve heard she had a close friend at the grocery store. The woman’s name is…” Jeremy pulled out his notebook and checked his notes, “her name is Belinda Carpenter. I’m going to talk to her tomorrow at the station.”
“You’re questioning her? Do you think that she’s a suspect?” Thor asked.
“It’s an interview,” Jeremy said. “I’m more looking for information at this time, and while it’s possible she could be a suspect, she’s not even a person of interest right now.”
“But you think she could be?” Thorn pressed.
Jeremy shrugged. “I’ll let you know more after I talk to her.”
Thorn came back inside after he was done talking to Jeremy. “You get all that?” he asked me with a smile.
“I did,” I said. “You knew I was there?”
“I could see you, sweetie. I don’t think Jeremy did, though,” Thorn answered.
“Tucker couldn’t have slashed my tires,” I responded.
“What?” Thorn looked confused.
“If it was the boyfriend who killed her, then who slashed my tires and why?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Thorn said plainly.
“It’s entirely possible that the two events aren’t related,�
� I said. “It would be a huge coincidence, but it is possible.”
“He had an alibi anyway,” Thorn said.
“He did,” I admitted with a sigh. “Maybe there was another man. Tucker certainly wasn’t committed to Pepper, and he said Pepper wanted it that way.”
“Maybe one of her friends knows who else she might have been seeing,” Thorn offered. “It sounded like she had at least one close friend at work.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said, “but I can think of someone that was closer. Her friend that lived down the hall. Josh might know who she was seeing. He might know if other men were coming or going. If there were, then perhaps some sort of jealousy is at play here. The nature of how she was murdered sure suggests it was possibly a crime of passion. It takes a lot of hate to suffocate someone that way.”
“Anger too that the arsenic wasn’t working,” Thorn said.
“Yes, and maybe people close to Pepper don’t want to talk to Jeremy because he’s law enforcement. But maybe they’ll talk to me. I think Josh and I struck a rapport, so I’m going to go talk to him,” I said.
“Right now?” Thorn asked.
“Yes, right now,” I said. “It’s not late, and I don’t want to wait until after work tomorrow.”
What I hadn’t told Thorn was that while he was talking to Jeremy, Pepper’s spirit had appeared under the hanging tree out front. She didn’t look sad and confused anymore. Her eyes had begun to turn black, and her skin was a mottled shade of gray.
I got the distinct feeling that she was trying to frighten me. It made me sad to think that she was already so far on her way to being a dark specter. It was her death that had propelled her so fast toward that fate. When she’d passed, it had been terrifying and horrific.
And she was betrayed.
Nothing turned a person towards the darkness like betrayal. But would being killed by someone she was casually dating have been a big enough treachery? It didn’t seem like it. Terrible and frightening, yes, but not enough to cause bone-deep rot in the soul.
I could feel it when Pepper looked at me, and I knew that she was beginning to grow angry with me as well. Because I hadn’t solved the crime. Because it was right there under my nose, and I had to be missing it. I couldn’t risk summoning her anymore, though, because she was too far gone. I wished I had done it sooner.
“I’m coming with you,” Thorn said.
“That defeats the purpose of me going alone,” I said with a chuckle. “You’re still the sheriff. He might not open up with you around.”
“Then I’ll wait outside his door,” Thorn said.
“Too close,” I said. “You can wait in the car. I’ll have you up on speed dial.”
“The stairwell,” Thorn said and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Fine,” I relented.
Chapter Eleven
Thorn drove us over to Josh’s apartment building and parked on the opposite side of the building from Josh’s place. After much insistence from me, he didn’t want to take any chance of Josh seeing us together.
We walked into the building together, and as promised, Thorn waited in the stairwell. I proceeded down the hall and knocked lightly on Josh’s door.
“Oh, hello,” he said when he opened his door. “Did you decide to come back and pack Pepper’s things yourself? Let me get the key. I hope nobody minds, but I’ve been over there packing some things when I had time. I wanted to make the moving fees cheaper for you, but if you’re doing it yourself, it’s even better.”
“I’m not here to pack,” I said before he could leave me at the threshold to get the key. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh… Okay,” Josh’s shoulders slumped a little. “Well, can I at least show you what I’ve done?”
“Sure,” I said. “That would be great. We can talk while you show me what you’ve packed.”
“I’ll get the key,” he said and disappeared into his apartment. When he returned, we walked down the hall and I waited while Josh let us in to Pepper’s former apartment. “I think the owner wants to rent her apartment out soon. If we don’t get her stuff out of here, he’s going to hire someone to come in and throw it all away. I didn’t want that to happen, so I’ve been packing as much as I can. I’ve had a lot of work to do, though.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t sent anyone yet,” I said as I followed him into the apartment. “I will soon so that her things don’t get thrown out.”
“You’re not here to pack?” he asked me again.
“No,” I said gently. “Right now, I just want to talk to you.”
“All right,” he said and wiped his hands down his worn jeans as if they were sweating. “Sorry, pretty women make me nervous,” Josh said when he noticed me watching him. “Maybe I should just let you be.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I need to talk to you about Pepper, Josh. You were close to her, right?”
“She was my best friend,” he said. “She moved into this building three years ago, and we’ve been thick as thieves ever since.”
“That’s why I need to speak to you,” I said. “I need to know if Pepper was seeing anyone other than Tucker Garrison. I’m worried she was killed by someone who was jealous, but I don’t know who. Did she have other men over to her place?”
“Pepper had a lot of men over to her place,” Josh said nonchalantly. “It wasn’t a big deal, though. She was a pretty girl. Not my type because I wasn’t interested in casual… dating, but that didn’t make her unattractive. Just unattractive to me.”
“I see,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Josh said. His cheeks turned bright red. “You didn’t ask me for my opinion on that. I shouldn’t speak that way about a dead friend.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Was there anyone special?”
“As far as I could tell, none of them was any more special than another,” Josh responded.
“I’m not asking this to be rude, so please don’t take it that way, but is there any chance whatsoever that she might not have wanted to discuss her love life with you?” I said and then thought of a way to soften the blow. “Maybe she had a thing for you, so she wouldn’t have wanted to talk about other men with you. You weren’t attracted to her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have at least a tiny crush on you.”
“I doubt that,” Josh said. “We really were just friends, and I think Pepper just didn’t want a serious relationship.”
“Okay,” I said. “Do you know who her best girlfriend was? Obviously, you guys were best friends, but who was her closest female friend?”
“You don’t believe me,” he sounded a little hurt.
“I do,” I said. “But if she didn’t discuss any problems with you, I am hoping maybe she mentioned a problematic guy to one of her girlfriends. You have to understand that it wouldn’t be an insult. There are just some things we women are only comfortable discussing with other girls.”
“Don’t I know it,” Josh said.
“What? Is there something?” I asked in the hopes he’d thought of something.
“No, it’s just that since Pepper has been gone, I’ve been watching some of her favorite movies. It seems like that’s a theme in a lot of movies aimed at women.”
“Oh,” I responded.
“Look, I don’t know if I can help you,” he said.
“You were Pepper’s best friend. Surely, you know if she had any girlfriends.”
Josh sighed. “She spent most of her time with various men, but I heard that perhaps she was friends with some women at work. I don’t know for sure.”
“Well, thanks,” I said.
It wasn’t exactly a revelation, but it did remind me that someone had mentioned her coworkers before. That was going to be my next stop, but I had to find a way to ditch Thorn. Nobody was going to talk to me with the town sheriff hanging around.
“You’re welcome,” Josh said. “Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”
“It’s okay,” I said as I walked to Pep
per’s apartment door. “I’ll send someone to pack and store her stuff soon. I promise.”
Josh looked like he wanted to say something else, but I was done. I wanted to get out of there and go to the store to see if I could drum up a coworker who could tell me more about Peppermint Howard.
Chapter Twelve
“Hey, sweetie,” I said when I found Thorn waiting in the stairwell. “I need some rum raisin ice cream and spicy sausage.”
Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) Page 10
