A Grave End

by Wendy Roberts

  “I’ve showered and feel almost human,” she told me. “Grab me a large latte when you come over.”

  She rattled off her address and I told her I’d be there in fifteen minutes. I stopped to get her latte and a couple of extra-large cookies and a juice for myself. Her apartment was on F Street in a pale yellow three-level building. She buzzed me in and I took the stairs to the second floor.

  She was standing with her door open as I walked down the hall, her lanky height nearly filling the space and blocking the dogs from shooting out the door.

  “Nectar of the gods.” She took her coffee from my hand. “Welcome to my mess.”

  “Thanks.”

  I toed off my runners and gave Jet a thorough scratch behind his ears and Chichi a pat even though the Chihuahua yipped and snarled at me. I followed Blossom across the apartment to the kitchen table. The place was a little untidy with a laundry basket on the sofa and a sink full of dishes but I wouldn’t call it a mess. I could tell she’d spent quite a bit of time choosing just the right unique furniture pieces in her place.

  “This is a nice apartment.”

  “You sound surprised.”

  I put the bag of cookies between us and told her to help herself. “No, you always had a good eye for fashion so I figured that would mean decorating as well.”

  “Not exactly a castle.” She snorted. “But I guess I’ve done all right.” She glanced around as if seeing it for the first time. “When Roscoe and I were dating, he hated coming over here. He always wanted me to come to the trailer instead.”

  “Really? Why is that?” I opened my bottle of juice and took a sip.

  “Get this...” She sipped her coffee and smirked. “He said apartments felt like jail.”

  I laughed in spite of myself.

  “Jesus, Beanster, you can actually laugh.” Blossom reached into the bag for a cookie and broke off a small piece. “I don’t think you once cracked a smile in all the years I’ve known you.”

  When she saw me every day we were in high school and I was struggling to survive under the demented rage of my grandmother.

  “I smile more these days,” I told her. “Things were...” I struggled to find the word and settled for “...hard. Back then, my life wasn’t easy.” The description was like saying a tsunami was a slight wave.

  “Yeah, none of us knew about that until all the hoopla surrounding your family a few years ago.” Her eyes were bright with curiosity, and I definitely didn’t want to start answering questions about that time so I switched the conversation.

  “If there was anyone else in the world who’d kill Alice, who do you think it would be?”

  “Besides Roscoe?” She stuffed another piece of cookie in her mouth and chewed. “No idea. I mean, maybe his sister would be the only one.”

  “Kim?” I paused with my juice halfway to my lips and put the bottle down in stunned surprise. “Why her?”

  “Oh I don’t think she really did it, I think it was Roscoe all-l-l-l the way. You asked who’d be my next thought and it would be her. She never liked Alice.”

  “Really? I never got that impression at all.”

  “It’s not like she’s going to start speaking ill of the dead, right?” Blossom rolled her eyes. “And Kim never walked around raging about Alice to other people but she’d make snide remarks about her being needy and whiny. I think Alice thought her and Kim could be like sisters once she married Roscoe, but Kim wasn’t interested. Alice never wanted Roscoe going anywhere without her because she hated being alone. Guess she was clingy with Kim too.”

  I thought back to the quiet Alice I remembered from school and could see how that might be true. “Do you think Alice was really like that, or was that just Kim’s opinion?”

  “For sure,” Blossom said with a snort. “I mean I think she had it kind of hard growing up, so when she met Roscoe she just kind of hung on for dear life. When they were out together, she always had to have her hands on him. Claiming him or something I guess, or maybe it was just she felt really insecure on account of her own life.” Blossom’s tone developed a superior sound when she added, “Some girls just don’t know that if you’re going to be like a piece of Velcro, a guy is going to look for someone who’s more of a challenge.”

  I could tell Blossom’s personal philosophy on men was that you needed to let them chase you while you played hard to get.

  “Sounds like she was looking to make a family.”

  “Oh, sure.” Blossom nodded. “And Roscoe’s dad, he was all over that, right? Especially once he got the cancer. He loved Alice and was always doing stuff for her.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like before they split up he took her to the mall and bought her a ton of clothes for no reason at all.”

  “That must’ve annoyed Kim.”

  “Nah.” Blossom shook her head. “Kim was never interested in having a relationship with the old man.”

  “So you said Alice was needy. Is that why Roscoe started dating you after his marriage ended? Were you more of a challenge?”

  “Ha!” Blossom barked out that bit of laughter then winked at me. “I made him work for it, that’s for sure, but I knew it was never going anywhere.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “As much as he complained about Alice, he still loved her.”

  “Did he say that?”

  “No. I could just tell.”

  “Where did Alice move to after they split up? I heard her mom moved to Florida and her dad passed.”

  “Her dad...” Blossom put her coffee cup down and stared at me. “Oh my God you don’t know.”

  “Know what?”

  “Do you remember Lois?”

  I shook my head slowly. The name didn’t ring a bell.

  “Lois was Alice’s half sister. I guess there was no reason you’d ever know about her because Alice never mentioned her name. Maybe Alice didn’t even know about her back then. Anyway, Lois returned here after high school. You were on a bender in Seattle in those days, if I remember.”

  I cleared my throat and looked down at the table. After school was done I’d bolted out of this godforsaken place, headed for the city and drunk myself into a near coma for months at a time. After grandma died, I finally dried out and came home. Been struggling to keep dry ever since.

  “So Alice’s half sister moved here after I left. Is she still here?”

  “I think she’s in Bellingham.”

  Blossom was giving me a secretive smile like she was going to reveal something big.

  “And what aren’t you saying?”

  “Lois killed their dad. She came here for a visit and apparently they got into drinking and brawling one night and she bashed his head in.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” My jaw dropped and my mind raced to catch up. “Why didn’t I hear about that?”

  “Far as I know, you hardly ever left your trailer unless it was to work at the gas station or go out with Katie,” Blossom said.

  “So what happened to Lois?”

  “She did her time. As a matter of fact she just got out about a month before Alice got herself killed.”

  “Were they close?”

  “Alice and Lois?” Blossom made a palms-up shrug. “I don’t see how they could be, but I guess they might’ve seen each other a few times after Lois was free. I heard Alice never once visited her while she was incarcerated.”

  “Do you think Lois would have reason to kill Alice?”

  “Got me.” Blossom broke off another piece of cookie and popped it in her mouth. “I don’t think they really knew each other. I’m sure Alice wouldn’t want to be all touchy and feely with the person who killed her dad, so I doubt they were bonding and shit, but what do I know?” She pointed at me. “You know way more about family dysfunction than I do.”

  She’d
meant it as a dig but it was true so I didn’t reply. I was sipping my juice and wondering about Alice’s ex-con sister. Murdering someone is a lot easier the second time around.

  Chapter Seven

  I was walking out of Blossom’s building when my phone rang. It was Ray.

  “I got over to the diner earlier and caught Barb on her break.”

  “And?”

  “She was more than happy to pray with me. She’s determined to save my soul, so of course I played along, right? I’m not a super religious person but I like to think I’m spiritual so I take offense to her thinking I’m the son of Satan because I’m a medium.”

  “Were you able to get any information?”

  “Right before she took my hands in prayer, I asked her if we could also pray for Roscoe for killing Alice. It was a ploy to put Roscoe in her head when I was trying to read her and it worked.”

  “Really? So what information did you read off of her?”

  “Nothing new, unfortunately. She believes Roscoe is guilty of killing Alice, but she still thinks she can save him from eternal damnation and still figures if Alice cheated, she probably deserved it.”

  “Did you get a read on who she believes Alice was having an affair with?”

  “No. The only thing in her head was a vague thought about people who break the seventh commandment are evil. I got the feeling that she’s justifying Roscoe’s killing of Alice based on that belief, but she’s got no facts about it. At least none I could pick up on in my reading. Let’s face it, if Barb knew the name of the person Alice may have been stepping out with, she’d have a few evil thoughts about that guy too. I got nothing.”

  I pressed the key fob on my Jeep and walked across the parking lot, then paused with my hand on the door to my car. “So it’s all just rumor. Gossip isn’t going to help find Alice. We need to talk to more people to see if anyone else might know for sure if Alice cheated, and if so, who she was having an affair with. I wonder if she had any close friends?”

  “I’m on it,” Ray said.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not really sure. Ask around I guess.”

  Which is really the only thing we could do. After I hung up I started up my Jeep. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I could see Blossom standing on her balcony two floors up. She was smoking a cigarette and staring at my car as if to make sure I was gone. I pulled out on the front street and parked at the curb out of her line of sight. I searched the web on my phone to try and get information on Alice’s sister, Lois. I’d been sitting there about ten minutes when I spotted a familiar car pulling into Blossom’s parking lot. It was Kim.

  Blossom hadn’t mentioned Kim was coming over. Maybe Kim was picking up the dogs even though it was Blossom’s day off? It did make me curious. I waited a few minutes after Kim was parked and entered the building and then I dialed Kim’s number. She let it go to voice mail and I left a message.

  “I know you said you heard a rumor that Alice was having an affair while married to your brother. Could you call me back so we can talk more about that?”

  I found a social media profile for Alice’s half sister, Lois, and it confirmed she lived in Bellingham like Blossom had suggested. I couldn’t get an exact address but searching her name did finally yield a phone number. It rang three times before being answered by a woman with a gravelly voice.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Lois? My name is Julie Hall.”

  Click.

  “Hello?” I frowned at the phone and wondered if she’d hung up on me or if we’d been accidentally disconnected. I dialed again.

  “Sorry, I think my call dropped there and—”

  “Leave me alone.”

  Click.

  Huh.

  I decided to send a text instead.

  I am trying to find Alice’s body so you can lay her to rest.

  Then I sent a second text.

  I was her friend in high school.

  Saying I was her friend was a bit of a stretch but we did have a connection.

  I received a message in reply.

  You’re working for the enemy. Leave me alone.

  So she knew I was hired by Kim and Roscoe. I guess I couldn’t blame her for wanting to avoid cooperating with the person she believed killed her half sister. I didn’t know how to break down that wall. I did some more online research and came across her LinkedIn page. Lois’s face looked strained, with a fake and forced smile. She listed her skills as mostly clerical. Her current employer was a janitorial service.

  I called the company and told them I was checking references on Lois. The call was transferred to another department and after some researching the woman there was able to find Lois’s file.

  The woman stated that Lois had been employed by them for six months. She worked full time cleaning an office building. I asked the name of the building and expected some resistance but she gave it to me and told me she worked three pm until eleven Monday to Friday.

  Bellingham was only a fifteen-minute drive from where I was and it was barely noon. I took out my dowsing rods and placed them on my lap. I could easily kill a few hours just driving around town and the surrounding areas. If Alice’s body lay in a ditch or an abandoned building around town, my rods would tell me.

  The rain let up and I rolled down the windows of the Jeep to let in some air. Winding up and down the roads in town was making me feel nauseous, and the small amount of juice I had that morning added to the queasy feeling. I regretted leaving Blossom the cookies. I stopped at a corner store and picked up a couple granola bars and a banana that was slightly past its prime.

  I was walking back to the Jeep and spotted Ray across the street. He had his back to me and was talking to the older man I remembered from the community garden. Ray had fisted hands on his hips and his legs spread in a look of defiance. Although I couldn’t hear what was being said, the tone in Ray’s voice was heated and the answering tenor in the old man’s response sounded equally angry.

  I climbed into the Jeep and ate the banana and one of the granola bars while watching them. Eventually, Ray stormed off, got into his car parked at the curb and sped off.

  “What the hell was that all about?” I wondered aloud.

  I washed the food down with gulps from a water bottle and waited until the older guy began walking away. When he’d sauntered a couple blocks down the road and I was about to lose him from my vision, I started up my car and drove up to meet him. I pulled to the curb just ahead of him, and the man stopped in his tracks and frowned.

  “What do you want?”

  “Just checking in,” I told him. “Wondering if you have any more information on Alice.”

  “What is with you two?” he snarled and began to walk away.

  A slight limp and his age didn’t make it hard to keep up so I stepped up beside him.

  “Us two?” I tried to sound innocent.

  “I know you’re working with that idiot, Ray.” He shook his head. “The two of you going around town trying to shake every tree as if Alice is just going to fall out.” He stopped walking and turned to me. “Just let the cops do their job, right? If her body is around, they’ll find it. Even if they don’t, it doesn’t change what happened. She’s dead. She ain’t coming back. Sticking what’s left of her in a gravesite isn’t going to change that.” His voice broke with emotion.

  “I’m sorry. You obviously were close to Alice.” My own voice grew tender. “My intention is only to pay due respect to her remains. I mean no harm at all.”

  “When she first started gardening her little plot, she had no clue what she was doing.” He smiled. “Every day she’d come to me and ask me questions about fertilizer and how often to water and whether or not she should spray for bugs.”

  “So you were like her mentor. That’s so nice you could help he
r.”

  But I got the feeling Alice knew that this lonely old man enjoyed her company too. Maybe all her questions were all about just making this guy feel useful.

  “She was a good young woman.” He shook his head and sighed. “And she had a way with plants. After she was gone the dumbass Roscoe sent over just overwatered, over-fertilized and killed all her hard work. Just like he killed her.”

  “If Roscoe killed her, do you have any idea where he’d bring her body?”

  “From what I heard he was drunk as a skunk that night so it wouldn’t have been far. I’d think he would’ve just buried her on his own land but I’m sure police searched there.”

  And so had I.

  “Thank you.” I reached and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I mean no disrespect to Alice.”

  I let him walk away then and headed back to my car. Kim called just as I was pulling away from the curb.

  “You told me that Alice was messing around on Roscoe. Is that fact, or rumor?” I asked her point-blank.

  “Well...” She hesitated. “There was talk that Alice had cheated. I told Roscoe that and he told me that it was all lies and to butt out.”

  “So Roscoe didn’t believe the rumor?” If he thought Alice had cheated while they were married, it gave him motive.

  “He thought the sun rose and set out of that girl’s ass.” Kim sighed.

  “It came up at trial. The prosecution brought up there were rumors of her cheating and that was one more reason why he killed her.”

  “Yes but of course Roscoe’s lawyer said they had no proof she was cheating.”

  Just because nobody had proof didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened. And if Roscoe still loved Alice, the thought of her with someone else could’ve been just one more thing, and the dog, Jet, was the final straw on the camel’s back that set things in motion. Or else whoever she was having an affair with had killed her.

  “Do you know the name of the guy she was supposedly seeing? If she had another boyfriend, he’s a suspect.”

  “If I’d ever had a name, I would’ve given it to the cops.”