by Sarah Hualde
Kat was disturbed. Something nagged at the corners of her mind. She was upset with Miss Jacqui. There was an obvious reason for that. She was humiliated.
What worried her wasn't as tangible. She paced, waiting for Flora to get ready to leave. Miss Jacqui avoided her. Kat wondered if the woman was angry or embarrassed. Kat was about to say something. She wanted this disruption to pass. Before the proper words could form, Jacqui flew in from the kitchen, stopping inches from Kat's face.
"That Ethan Everett. He pulls up and yells at me like I'm some jaywalking hooligan. Victor got off, scott free. Just because his cleaner gave him a dizzy fit."
Kat reeled. The woman wasn't concerned with Kat's feelings. She was more worried about her reputation. It figures Kat thought.
“What are these?" Carrie's voice disrupted Miss Jacqui's frazzled ejaculation. Regaining her normal stone-faced stance, Jacqui went to the nurse's aide. Carrie pointed to two piles of tablets. "These are not Cordelia's prescription."
Jacqui palmed the empty container. She checked and rechecked the label. "Her name is on it."
"But look," Carrie lined a row of symmetrical blue pills and a row of misshapen blue oval tablets. "These aren't even close to the same."
Intrigued Kat stood at the table looking alongside the others. She flicked one of the misshapen pills. "These look like my homeopathic headache pills, except they're the wrong color."
Carrie flipped one of each tablet over. She pointed at the markings on the most vibrant colored one and to the lack of markings on the other. "This one is prescription. It's a sleeping aid. This one is nothing I've ever seen." She scooped it into her hand. The pill's backside faced up on her palm. Carrie held it for the other's to inspect. "Where'd you get this prescription?"
"Isaac, at the General Store." Jacqui scolded at the imposter pill.
"Personally?"
"No, by courier," Jacqui said.
"Braden Haze brought it." Kat and Jacqui stared into each other's faces.
"Is he the normal courier for the General Store?"
"He's the only one."
Carrie bagged the foreign pills. Then she triple inspected every other capsule in her pile, before dividing them into doses. She snapped photos of each collection and texted Dr. Lawrence.
"As far as I can tell," Jacqui said, "at least half of that bottle was filled with fake medication."
"No wonder Cordelia went nuts." Jacqui still avoided Kat's eye contact when not discussing the strange medication problem. She always found something else to look at during silent pauses.
Why can't she say sorry? Kat wondered.
"You didn't have to go, you know? You wanted over there as much as I did." Jacqui stormed into the other room, after seemingly reading Kat's mind. This made Kat all the more irritated.
Flora descended the stairs, with Enoch strapped in his car carrier. She looked ragged and sore. Kat warmed, letting her frustration drift away, and helped her tired friend to the car.
✽✽✽
"What do you mean, frozen?" Ethan asked Gus. Hobo Joe was sequestered to the only actual cell of the police station. He was napping on a cot covered in a BFF quilt.
"I mean, frozen." Gus knew his boss would stutter on this new information. They both were absorbed in the teen murder and assault. Mario Muggs was placed on their mental backburners. They knew they'd have to get to his case sooner than later. But they were content waiting for news from the coroner before jumping into that investigation.
The whole town was blasting them with calls about the teen beatings. Ethan hired Rachel's cousin from out of state to help with the phone lines. She took notes and transferred other calls to the full-time receptionist. The arrangement was temporary. Ethan hoped the onslaught of violence was as well.
"Okay, frozen.” Ethan rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed a good long rest.
"But not well. The body was frozen but not fast enough to stop it from decaying. At least, partially. Ashton says they believe he's been frozen for at least six weeks."
"Aren't they sure?"
Gus shook his head and gagged. The entire situation was getting to him. "They said parts of him were frozen solid for five weeks. Other parts for closer to eight. But they can only estimate by the obvious decay."
"So, two months? He's been dead all this time. We've been out searching and interrogating, and he was frozen somewhere." Gus stood still, figuring it out alongside Ethan. "Do they know how he died?"
"They're working on it.” Ethan plopped into his chair and sighed.
"Two murders. One attack. Trash smashers and vandals. What else is going to happen?" The landline resting on Ethan's desk rang. Rachel turned her chair toward the Sheriff's office and waved her hands. "I should have kept my mouth closed."
✽✽✽
The police questioned Mr. Goldberg several times. Still, he remained pleasant and eager to speak with Lydia. He served hot coffee on his front porch.
"My house is a mess," he said. "Besides, I love these long summer mornings."
At 9 am the sun sparkled off the evaporating dew. A brisk swaying wind tickled the grass and chilled the skin. Mr. Goldberg's coffee was weak, but its warmth was delightful.
"What did you see when your trash can was smashed?" Lydia jumped right into the conversation. Mr. Goldberg, the local furniture store owner, loved his small talk. He would prattle on all day if not directed to the meat of the conversation. Lydia did not have time for small talk. Any minute her husband would piece together Hobo Joe's past and have to make his assumptions official.
Right now, Joe was only a suspect. He stayed at the station for his safety. A lot of furious townsfolk wanted his hide. They wanted their sense of security returned, no matter the cost.
"Well, I'm not sure what time it was. I guessed it was around 2 am since it was still dark. But who knows for sure. I didn't check. I heard the screech of tires and the smell of burning rubber and then the crash. From the rumors, I knew what it was.
Sure enough, my trash can was spewed all over the road. I didn't see the car that hit it. I was too distracted by the body lying beside my trash can." Mr. Goldberg shuddered. "It was disgusting. All cracked and bent. Be glad you missed it."
Lydia blanched. She wished she had missed it. The sight of Mario’s hand shooting from the sheet made her recoil. She took a fast sip of hot coffee to cover the swirling in her gut.
"Did you recognize who it was," she asked.
"Sadly, yes. Of course, who else would it be? No one else in Honey Pot was reported missing. At least, to my knowledge."
Lydia took another drink and nodded. She gazed out to the street. "Would you mind showing me, exactly, where the body was when you found it?"
With a weird happy giggle, Mr. Goldberg leapt from his plastic chair and led Lydia to the street. "It was right here." He pointed in between two thick tire tracks.
"Are you sure?"
“I remember thinking he looked like a grotesque cartoon. You know when the character skiis through a tree, and there's as ski mark on either side of it."
✽✽✽
Sitting in her car, Lydia listened to the scanner. Sometimes Ethan communicated with her through it. Things he couldn't tell her face to face he revealed in pieces via police dispatch. The scanner was quiet. She considered texting Ethan but knew he wouldn't answer unless she texted a 9-1-1.
She called Kat instead. "Where should we meet?" Kat answered on the first ring and didn't bother offering a salutation. A whisper beside her mingled with the sound of her driving. "Flora needs to go home. Ivy has my kids. Let's meet at Flora's."
"On my way," Lydia said.
✽✽✽
Miss Jacqui and Carrie waited for the news from Dr. Lawrence. He carried half the counterfeit drugs with him and left half for the police. "I believe your friend was right. I think these are homeopathic drugs from the local pharmacy." Carrie clicked her acrylics against the screen of her cell as she thought.
"So, wha
t made Cordelia spiral, last night?" Jacqui sipped her tea. Muffin's nails clattered against the kitchen tile as he searched for crumbs.
"That's the question, isn't it?" Carrie scanned the kitchen table and what she could see of the cabinets. Jacqui's spice rack hosted the usual items plus a congregation of orange and brown pill bottles. "Are any of those Cordelia's," she asked.
Jacqui wagged her head back and forth. She stood and retrieved each medicine and brought them to the table. "Some of these are mine, and some of them are Rene's. She lives with me, but I can't care for her with this wrist." Jacqui lifted her damaged hand. "Usually she's able to take care of herself. The last few weeks her stability has been dodgy at best. I had to send her to her nephew's."
"Do you mind?" Carrie waited for approval and then dumped one bottle at a time. "Did Cordelia take any of these?"
"We know better than to share medications."
"Of course," she said. "Look!" She pointed to four separate piles of medication. Each contained vibrant, perfectly shaped and stamped prescriptions, mingled with rough-edged pallid mockups. Jacqui grabbed each receptacle and brought them closer for inspection.
"Care to guess?"
"All from the General Store," Carrie assumed.
"Yes, and all from the last few months. Delivered by Braden Haze."
Chapter 31
Ivy dropped off the Millers and Scout at Flora's house. Kat and Flora looked frightening with their yesterday's hair and luggage sized bags under their eyes. "When was the last time you all slept? Really slept?"
Flora and Kat laughed in unison. Their cackling worried Ivy. She hoped she didn't grow into the present version of her mom friends. For a moment, she considered taking Scout with her. However, a madhouse filled with caring kids and mothers was better for an infant than the police station and hospital.
She fed Scout her mid-morning cereal before scooting. Emily was waiting. Her phone call convinced Ivy to step in. Emily's promise to go to the police filled in any questions she had about the situation. A fast text to Lydia eased her worries.
After the last conversation with Emily, Ivy wondered if there was anything more she needed to add in her talk with Sheriff Everett. Ivy steeled herself for anything.
✽✽✽
"Overdosed?" Gus puffed out his cheeks. The week was crashing around him and his boss. Ethan headed to Ashton to have a more in-depth conversation with the coroner. Though Ethan trusted his staff, eavesdroppers were continually calling in. He didn't want anyone to hear the news or part of the news and twist it to fit their lopsided theories.
"That's what they said," Ethan relayed.
"On what?"
"They'll tell me when I get there."
"On purpose," Gus asked.
"Again, they'll tell me when I get there." Ethan tightened his belt and caught a glimpse of himself his office mirror. He looked awful. Raking a comb through his hair and splashing aftershave over his five o'clock shadow would have to do for his trip.
"But Mario Muggs? He wasn't that kind of man. Suicide? Nope. Recreational drug use? Nope. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it will after my visit. Keep Joe fed and away from the public. I'll check in on the way back." Ethan slid into the front seat of his vehicle and hurried to Ashton Hospital.
✽✽✽
"What was Cordelia doing, right before she lost it?" Dr. Lawrence asked, helping himself to Jacqui's tea kettle. The steamy water cascaded over the chocolaty mound of hot cocoa mix. Little powder cluster islands drifted to the surface of his mug. The doctor shuffled through Miss Jacqui's kitchen drawers until he found a spoon.
Jacqui's eyes locked on the ceiling as she dug through her mental files retrieving the memories. "First, I tried to get her to eat something. She would have none of it. She turned down my famous Shepherd's Pie and even snubbed Oatmeal Scotchies. Finally, I convinced her to have some hot chocolate. I figured empty calories were better than nothing."
Dr. Lawrence frowned and stirred his drink. "Cordelia isn't supposed to have chocolate."
Jacqui's eyes widened. "Allergic? Is that what made her crazy?"
The doctor reassured Jacqui with simple shakes of his head. "No. She's not allergic. It sends her heart racing. I'm surprised I didn't notice any abnormalities when I was here."
"As I was saying, she had hot chocolate and went to bed." Muffin pawed at the doctor's leg. He reached to pet the shaggy pup and was greeted with a slimy lick. "Muffin went with her."
The doctor wiped his hand on a napkin and examined the faked medication containers. He took a big swig of his drink and immediately spat it back in his mug.
"Was it too hot?" Jacqui leaped up and retrieved a bundle of paper towels, handing them to the doctor. He took them and wiped off his face while collecting the hot cocoa. He dumped the powder on a clean paper towel and sifted through it with his finger.
Abnormal clumps of brilliant blue decorated the Dutch chocolate and sugar mixture. "What are those?" Carrie asked.
Doctor Lawrence picked up a chunk and inspected it at close range. "Looks like Adderall!"
✽✽✽
Lydia arrived at the Brandes house only moments after Ivy left. She'd hoped to check in on the teen. It had been days since she'd sat down with Ivy for a visit. Last time they chatted, it was over Emily's dramatic last few weeks.
It surprised Lydia. She started to see Ivy as more of a daughter than a house guest. She craved a conversation with her. Almost as much as she longed to talk with Joan. If her current situation ever solved itself and life returned to basic and boring, she was planning a date night with her young friend.
Flora charged Eloise with supervision duty and bribed the bunch with freshly baked cinnamon buns, after lunch. The cluster of children herded into the basement-slash-playroom, giggling with every step.
"Okay, where should we start?" Kat bounced from foot to foot. Flora dug through a wheeled tote and pulled out decorative papers and a scrapbook. "That's not what I had in mind." Kat scoffed at her friend.
Flora's face went from hurt to smug in a series of micro-expressions. "Give me a moment. I do have something to say."
Scout played with a plastic key ring in the portable crib next to the couch, while Enoch slumbered in his Moses basket. Flora spread the thirteen by thirteen fabric-covered book out on the kitchen table. The first few pages hosted empty paper frames and a scattering of stickers. Kat huffed. Her impatience wore on Flora. She spun, quickly, to the middle section.
Lydia whistled. "Look at you!" She praised the craftiness of her artsy friend.
Nestled in the centerfold, Flora had created a timeline. It started two months back with the disappearance of Mario Muggs. Kat choked on her self-righteous frustration. Words wouldn't come to explain her rudeness. Flora smiled in quiet forgiveness and victory.
"I backtracked a bit. I remember when Cordelia first reported Mario missing. She asked me to sit with her and Ethan. I wrote everything down. His last few inspections and where he was headed the day he disappeared." Flora pointed to photos and notes on the timeline that corresponded with Mario's trips.
She flipped a couple of pages and revealed a timeline pertaining to the trash smashing fiascos. Details, dates, and car descriptions labeled each entry. Finally, she revealed her work regarding Hobo Joe's attack.
"I haven't had time to add Braden and Lucas to the timeline since I was at Jacqui's."
"This is amazing, Flora." Kat did not hold back. She praised Flora's organization skills. Flora beamed, happy to be a help and pleased to be a part, once again. Lydia flipped through the pages. "Uh oh," Kat said. "I recognize that look."
"Help yourself to the coffee," Flora waved Kat to the kitchen. Kat obeyed, hurrying to supply Lydia with liquid brain food.
✽✽✽
Ethan spotted Ivy in the hospital hallway. He was too tired to be surprised. Ivy shifted in her shoes. Ethan noticed her discomforted attitude.
“Let me guess," he said. "You smuggled Emily here?" Ivy nodded
speechlessly. "I need to talk to that girl."
"Yes, you do. She's planning to see you, right after talking with Lucas."
"I'm not going to ask if Lucas' father cleared her for visits. I'm not here to see Lucas." Ivy scratched an imaginary itch on her elbow, trying to avoid eye contact. She didn't want to lie to Ethan. He understood and chose not to ask any further questions. "Text me, when you're on your way to the station.”
"Will do." Ivy sighed, diffusing the unspoken tension. Ethan patted her shoulder. The tenderness he felt for the teen shocked him. In six months, she'd morphed from houseguest to surrogate daughter. Though she looked nothing like his Joan, when he looked into her innocent and worried eyes, he saw his girl smirking back at him.
Ethan headed for the elevator. Ivy's neck muscles relaxed from Ethan's reassuring contact. It was a weird feeling, having a father figure looking out for her. Ivy wiped away a rogue and unexpected tear before resuming as a lookout for Emily.
✽✽✽
"Who was Mario inspecting the days before his death?" Kat paced around the table. It gave Flora goosebumps and wore on Lydia's nerves.
"Um, that would be Victor Cotton, Berna at the Hive, and Davis Goldberg." Flora read without inflection or inference. Her voice stayed flat. She sipped at her lactation tea and wished it was double strength matcha.
"Mario was found in the Goldberg trash. He's it. Got to be."
"Except it's not him," Lydia said, rubbing her frown lines. Kat hurried to her purse. She tossed Lydia a bottle of peppermint oil. "Not again."
Kat snorted. "Don't be a baby. Sniff the lid if you're afraid to touch it. It will help you stay awake. Drop some in your coffee."
Lydia twisted the lid and sniffed. Cooling breath iced her nasal passages and her throat, filling her lungs with winter, and kick-starting her brain. She passed the bottle back.
"How do you know it's not him?" Flora's eyes tingled from the peppermint fumes.
"Hard to explain. He's far too impressed with the whole thing. He's excited to be a part of the town's drama."
