The Case of the Abandoned Aussie

by B R Snow

  “I’m sure her plan is to disappear,” Josie said.

  “But why come here first?”

  It was such a good question, I thought I’d take a shot answering it.

  “To say goodbye to her parents one more time?” I said. “Maybe to tell them that she’s finally avenged their death?”

  “Or maybe to spit on their graves,” Josie said. “I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about what’s rolling around inside her head, Suzy.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” I said, nodding. “We need to figure out a way to keep her here for a while.”

  “I have an idea,” Josie said, searching inside her purse. “Just drive past her car and let me out. Then wait for me at the other end of the cemetery.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Josie held up a metal object that was inside a small plastic case. I recognized it immediately.

  “You always carry a scalpel inside your purse?” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

  “You never know when it will come in handy,” she said, smiling. “Like right now.”

  “And in your hands, it sure beats a can of pepper spray,” I said, putting the car in gear.

  “You got that right,” she said.

  I slowed the car as we approached Rosaline’s vehicle and Josie hopped out and ducked down alongside the driver’s side that was adjacent to the road. I continued down the road and then pulled to the side and stopped. I watched Josie use the scalpel to puncture all four tires and jog back to the car. I pulled out my phone and dialed Jackson’s number.

  “Jackson, it’s me,” I said when he answered.

  Josie hopped into the passenger seat out of breath, and I continued down the road away from the cemetery.

  “Hey, Suzy. Are you staying out of trouble?” Jackson said.

  “Hey, Jackson,” Josie managed to get out.

  “Hi, Josie,” he said, laughing. “Did some lucky guy get you breathing that hard or were you just thinking about me?”

  “Funny, Jackson. You’re a real hoot.”

  I explained to him where we were, what we’d done, and what we’d found out. He listened closely and then exhaled loudly through the phone.

  “Wow,” he said. “What a weird story. Look, I don’t want you getting anywhere near Rosaline, but is it possible for you guys keep an eye on her until I can get the Canadian cops on the scene?”

  “That won’t be necessary, Jackson,” I said. “She won’t be going anywhere for a while.” I glanced through the rearview mirror and watched as Rosaline kicked massive dents in her car upon discovering the four flat tires. “But make sure you tell the Canadians to be prepared for battle. She’s in a pretty bad mood at the moment, and I don’t see it improving.”

  “Got it,” Jackson said. “Nice job. Now, why don’t you do everyone a favor and head back home and play with your dogs?”

  “We’re going to do exactly that as soon as we make one more stop,” I said, glancing at Josie.

  “That’s right. The bakery. I almost forgot.”

  I tossed my phone in my bag and sped down the road. I took one more look through the mirror at Rosaline who continued screaming and trying to kick and punch her car into oblivion.

  “So that’s what sub-psychotic rage looks like?” I said.

  “Yup,” Josie said, glancing over her shoulder to watch the out of control Rosaline disappear in the distance. “Textbook case.”

  “I guess that explains why she was able to throw Crawford overboard.”

  “Yeah,” Josie said. “And Roxanne is a very lucky woman.”

  “That’s for sure,” I said, nodding as I turned onto a side road that led back to the highway. “I get why she’d go after the Crawfords. But why would Rosaline try to kill Roxanne?”

  “I don’t know, Suzy,” Josie said, yawning. “Maybe just because she’s nuts.”

  I fell silent and drifted off into deep thought as I drove through the light rain that had started falling. Josie sat up when she heard the sound of the windshield wipers and looked at me.

  “You’re wondering if Jerry the Lawyer is in this thing with her, aren’t you?”

  “Yup. That thought has crossed my mind,” I said. “What’s your take on it?”

  “Suzy, I’d rather think about anything else but that at the moment if it’s okay with you,” Josie said, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I guess it can wait,” I said, focusing on the road. “You hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  Chapter 32

  I watched Josie put the finishing touches on an elaborate bandage that covered the back left foot of a Lab that had skidded along a wooden dock while chasing a tennis ball and gotten a huge splinter jammed between the pads of its paw. The young woman who owned the Lab was nervously pacing in the exam room and wincing every time she heard her dog whimper. Josie had decided there was no need to use anesthesia on the dog, so it was up to Sammy and me to keep the dog calm and immobile. Sammy handled the lower half and legs while I stroked the Lab’s head and whispered gently in its ear.

  “There we go,” Josie said, standing up and removing her latex gloves. She turned to the owner. “She’ll be fine. It’s a nasty cut, and she’ll be limping around for a few days, but that’s to be expected. If I got a six-inch splinter jammed between my toes, I’d be bawling like a baby. I gave her a sedative, so she’ll be groggy for a while, but when she wakes up, you need to make sure she doesn’t start chewing the bandage. If she does and you can’t get her to stop, give me a call, and we’ll talk about putting a neck collar on her. I hate them, but sometimes it’s all you can do.”

  “Okay, Doc. Thanks so much.”

  “Sammy, would you mind carrying her out to Mindy’s car and then following her home to help Maxine get settled in?”

  “Sure,” Sammy said, gently picking the dog up.

  “And it’s almost quitting time,” Josie said. “Why don’t you just call it a day after that?”

  “Thanks,” Sammy said on his way out the door. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  I waved goodbye and followed Josie through the exam room door that led to the back of the Inn. I looked around, and all the dogs were in their condos eating dinner. I did a quick check-in with Jill who was handling dinner hour, reviewed tomorrow’s schedule, and finally ran out of things to do and headed up to the house.

  I jumped in the shower, and by the time I made my way downstairs to the living room wearing sweats and a tee shirt, Josie was already there drinking wine and chatting with Jackson who was still in his uniform and drinking coffee. I was beginning to wonder if he was ever officially off the clock.

  “Hey, Suzy,” he said. “I thought I’d drop by and give you an update.”

  “And take the opportunity to try and wrangle a date?” I said, chuckling as I sprawled out on the couch.

  “I’m still holding out hope that my dogged persistence will eventually win out over my apparent lack of sex appeal,” Jackson said, laughing.

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jackson,” Josie said. “I’m sure there are lots of women who think you have tons of appeal.”

  “Just not you, right?”

  Josie flashed him a quick smile and took a sip of wine.

  “So what’s the deal with Rosaline?” I said, sitting up on the couch and folding my legs underneath me.

  “She’s lawyered up and silent at the moment,” Jackson said. “They put her in protective custody in a psych ward. Twenty-four hour armed guard lockdown.”

  “Has she owned up to anything?” I said.

  “She finally admitted to being the daughter. But that’s it,” Jackson said.

  “She’s smart enough to know that she wouldn’t be able to get away with that lie,” I said.

  “Yeah, you can’t get around the DNA,” Jackson said. “The Canadian cops said she was out of her mind with rage when they picked her up at the cemetery. It took three of them to
get her into the police car.”

  “I guess the four flat tires did the trick,” I said, shaking my head at the memory.

  “Just call me the fastest scalpel in the West,” Josie said, laughing.

  “Did you ask her about the key?” I said.

  “Yeah, I even showed it to her,” Jackson said. “No reaction at all. She just looked at it and then stared off at the wall. But she was pretty out of it on all the medication they’re giving her.”

  “There has to be some connection between the key and the murders,” I said.

  “There could be. But when it comes to the Crawfords and Roxanne, she isn’t talking. And her alibis are solid. She was getting busy with her boyfriend when all three happened, and each one was confirmed by the motel manager where the boyfriend has been staying. He said their sessions went on for hours and that they made so much noise they embarrassed the other guests.”

  “See what you missed out on?” Josie deadpanned, then looked at Jackson and laughed.

  “Shut up,” I said, throwing one of the couch pillows at her. I looked at Jackson. “So what now?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “All I have is a woman with some serious mental problems caused by a traumatic childhood experience. The shrink who’s seeing her says Rosaline exhibits serious cognitive dissonance punctuated with episodes of intermittent explosive disorder.”

  “That’s the clinical term for she’s off her rocker,” Josie deadpanned.

  “Thanks, but I got that one,” I said.

  Josie laughed and got up to refresh Jackson’s coffee.

  “So what now?” I said.

  “Well,” Jackson said, choosing his words carefully. “We thought we might try to put the squeeze on the boyfriend to see if we can shake anything loose that might poke a hole in their alibis.”

  I looked at Josie, and she shook her head. We both knew what was coming next.

  “I guess that’s worth a shot,” I whispered.

  “I was wondering if you might be willing to help out,” he said.

  “You want me to do the squeezing?” I said, glancing at Josie.

  “If you’re comfortable with the idea,” Jackson said. “I know it sounds like it might be dangerous, but we’d do it in a public place and have a lot of people there undercover just in case things got ugly.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt me,” I said, shaking my head.

  “How do you know that?” Jackson said.

  “For one reason, he has a strong attraction for me I really can’t explain. And second, he’s not a killer. He might be an enabler, but not a killer.”

  “I’m not sure I like this idea, Suzy,” Josie said. “Given the number of times you’ve been wrong on this thing, how can you be so sure?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’ll invite him to dinner at Tondeuse.”

  “And we’ll do our usual, right?” she said.

  I looked at her and realized she wasn’t joking. I thought about it, then nodded.

  “Yes, I’ll text you straight away if it looks like things are starting to head south.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Jackson said.

  “It’s a system we have for getting each other out of bad dates,” Josie said. “We text each other if we want to get out of a date. And then the other just pops in unexpectedly and sits down at the table, thereby effectively ending the date.”

  “You really do that?” Jackson said, glancing back and forth at us.

  “Sure. All the time,” I said. “And if you were ever able to convince Josie to go out with you, I’m sure you’d get a chance to see it in action firsthand.”

  Josie roared with laughter. Jackson didn’t find it quite as funny.

  “Okay, let’s set it up for tomorrow night,” he said.

  “All right,” I said, shrugging.

  “And Josie and I will be waiting at the bar for your text message,” he said, beaming at her.

  “We will?” Josie said.

  “Yes, we will. And since this will be an official police operation, you have no choice but to accept.”

  Josie thought about it for a long time, then nodded in agreement.

  “Congratulations, Jackson,” she said, finishing her wine. “You finally figured out a way to finagle a dinner date out of me.”

  “Yeah, I did,” he said through a huge grin. “How about that? And all I had to do was play my your roommate might be in trouble card. Who knew?”

  “Don’t gloat, Jackson,” Josie said, frowning at him. “It’s not becoming.”

  “Too late,” he said.

  Chapter 33

  “You’re joking, right?” I said, staring at the short skirt and heels Josie was wearing along with a white silk blouse that had a deep V cut from the shoulders. The outfit was stunning on her, but very much out of character. To use a musical analogy, her style of dress usually reminded me of a stylish jazz club. Smooth and cool, yet understated. Tonight’s choice was like the brass fanfare surrounding the opening of a new Broadway musical.

  “How is the poor guy supposed to focus on work tonight? Are you trying to seduce him or just torture him?”

  “Definitely the latter,” she said. “This is what Jackson gets for conning a date out of me the way he did.”

  “Well, you have to give him points for creativity and tenacity,” I said, continuing to marvel at the way she looked.

  “Yeah, maybe a couple,” she said, draping a flowered scarf over her shoulders. “You look great.”

  “Thanks,” I said, glancing in the mirror. My outfit was an upgrade over my tee shirt and sweats, although not nearly as comfortable.

  I heard the knock on the door and went into the kitchen to greet Sammy. He’d agreed to watch Chloe even though she was well past the stage where she needed adult supervision. But I just hated leaving her alone.

  “Hey, Suzy,” Sammy said, leaning down to pet Chloe. “You look great. You got a hot date?”

  “I seriously doubt it,” I said, heading back into the living room.

  Sammy followed me and stopped dead in his tracks when he got a look at Josie. I watched him do his best not to stare at her and then started laughing.

  “Are you going to be okay, Sammy?” I said.

  “Wh-what?” he said, glancing at me. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then his eyes locked back on Josie. “Geez, Doc. You look amazing.”

  “Thanks, Sammy,” she said, casually accepting the compliment.

  I knew it wasn’t even close to being the last one she got tonight.

  “I’m sorry for staring,” he said. “It’s just that I get so used to seeing you in those baggy scrubs all day I tend to forget what an incredibly tight package you come wrapped in.”

  Josie stared at him, looked at me with a bewildered expression, and then back at him with a hard glare.

  “What did you say?” Josie whispered.

  “Uh, sorry, Doc,” he stammered. “That came out wrong. It was supposed to be a compliment.”

  “Maybe for a stripper on a pole,” she said. “The tight package I come wrapped in? You know better than that, Sammy.”

  He stared down at the floor, his lighthearted mood shattered.

  “You know, Sammy,” Josie said, softening her tone a bit. “I’ve been wondering why such a good looking kid like you never seems to go out on any dates. I think I just figured it out. Keep going around talking about women like they’re a piece of meat, and I swear I will make it my personal mission to make sure you die a lonely man.”

  “I’m sorry, Doc,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

  “You’re better than that, Sammy,” Josie said, adjusting her scarf. “Let me clue you in on a little secret. The way to get a woman’s attention, especially women like Suzy and me, is to focus on the things that make us interesting as human beings. And while we fully expect you to notice and appreciate the way we look, keep your comments about our package to yourself, no matter how incredibly tight it is. Am I making myself clear?”

>   “I got it, Josie. I’m so sorry.”

  “Okay. Enjoy your evening,” she said, heading for the door.

  “She’s really mad at me, isn’t she?” Sammy asked me when Josie was out of earshot.

  “A little,” I said. “But it’s more disappointment than anything else.”

  “That’s even worse,” he said, sitting down on the couch.

  “Yup,” I said, grabbing my purse. “And that’s another lesson worth learning early on.”

  I reached down to rub Chloe’s head and waved goodbye to the forlorn young man staring off into space.

  I walked outside and met Josie who was standing outside the SUV waiting for me to unlock it.

  “Do you think I was too hard on him?” she said.

  “No, he deserved it,” I said. “And I doubt he’ll be doing it again, so you probably did him a favor. Not to mention all the other women of Clay Bay.”

  “He’s a good kid,” she said. “But that comment ticked me off.”

  “I could tell,” I said, unlocking the SUV. “Now are you going to be able to climb into your seat in that outfit, or do you need some help getting your incredibly tight package into the car?”

  “Suzy?”

  “Yes,” I said, chuckling.

  “Shut up.”

  We made the short drive to Tondeuse in under ten minutes and discovered Jackson already there and leaning against the side of his car in the parking lot.

  “Hi, guys,” he said, giving both of us the once over. “You look terrific.”

  I don’t know if his intuition was working overtime tonight, but I knew he scored a point for not making any specific reference to Josie’s outfit. I waited a few minutes until they had gone inside and got settled in at the bar, then walked inside and was greeted by the hostess. She escorted me to my table and Jerry the Lawyer stood as I approached.

  He thought about going in for a hug, but stopped himself and settled for a handshake. His loss, I probably would have been okay with it.

  “I was surprised to hear from you,” he said. “You know, what with everything that’s been going on with Rosaline.”