My Wicked Valentine

by Lotta Smith

  “They detected a large amount of lily pollen on the floor at the innermost space of this room.” She indicated the black marble floor.

  “What kind of lilies?” Rick asked him.

  He looked at Detective Rogers, but when she nodded at him, saying “Go on,” he said, “Casablanca lilies.”

  “They’re over there!” Jackie floated to the shelf with the flower vase holding three stems of Casablanca lilies. “I knew this arrangement was weird. These are large and heavy-ish flowers, and you’re not supposed to present them like that. I’m sure one of them had fallen down to the floor, and then it was put back into the vase.”

  “Check for fingerprints, Matt,” Detective Rogers ordered the CSI guy.

  “Roger that.” He started the procedure.

  Quickly, the flowers and vase were assessed for fingerprints. “I have Kevin Richards’s partial prints along with three other unknown partial prints. Perhaps, they’re the prints of the producers and retailers,” Matt reported.

  “Does that mean Kevin did it?” Brian asked.

  “I’m not saying that.” Matt shook his head. “What I can tell is he wasn’t wearing gloves when he touched the flowers. I have some fibers on the flower, so it doesn’t take a rocket science to predict someone touched them with gloves or some kind of a cloth.”

  “Oh my God!” Shannon’s eyes widened.

  “Did you remember anything?” Jackie looked into her face.

  “Yes. I was going back to the office after I’d led Ms. Errol to the detoxing bath.” Shannon pointed at the door. “The door was ajar, and I saw a lily lying on the floor. I suspected Darrel had done another sloppy job and dropped the flower, so I came inside to check each locker.”

  “Okay.” Detective Rogers nodded as Brian and I passed on her words.

  “One by one, I opened the door and checked the contents. Of course, I left the used lockers alone, but I went on checking out each unused locker.” Shannon floated to the inside. She stopped in front of the innermost locker. “When I was checking the last one, I felt the door open. The door didn’t make a noise, but I felt the air moving. I didn’t look back. The floor is black, and our uniforms are black, so I assumed whoever was coming in was one of the staff. I should have at least looked back. If I did so, I would have seen my killer’s face!”

  Shannon punched the locker, but her hand went through it.

  “It’s okay.” Jackie stroked her back as the newly dead turned even paler.

  “Just to clarify, but can we rule out the possibility that the lilies were already on the floor when you brought Ms. Errol here?” Detective Rogers asked, looking into the ghost’s eyes. I knew she couldn’t see dead people, but still, she was looking the ghost eye-to-eye. Perhaps that had something to do with the detective’s communication skills as an investigator.

  “I believe so. Even if I’d missed that, Ms. Errol should have said something about that.”

  “Right. She wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity to openly complain to you.” Jackie agreed.

  “All right. In that case, the killer had only a few minutes—between Cameron Errol’s exit from here and Shannon’s entrance to here—to plant the lilies on the floor.” Rick snapped his fingers. “I know who did it.”

  “What? Who?” Jackie, Brian, and I said in unison.

  Without answering, Rick looked at Brian. “Did you help with giving CPR to Shannon between the discovery of her lying there bleeding and the ambulance taking her to the hospital?”

  “No,” he answered uncomfortably. “Look, when I arrived here, this room was already packed with people trying to resuscitate her.”

  “So, is it safe to assume you didn’t step on the blood on the floor?” Rick looked at Brian’s feet in Croc-style sandals with a thick sole and closed toe, wrapped in foot covers. He had done a little whining about his footwear choice before coming to the locker room, insisting he wouldn’t walk on someone else’s blood wearing thin slippers. He went so far as to threaten the hell out of the NYPD, NYC, and the state of New York in case he’d contracted any infections. As a result, Detective Rogers had given in and sent a deputy to visit a shoe shop located closest to the building.

  “I believe so.” Brian nodded. “When I came here, I was wearing those paper-thin slippers, so I stayed away from the bloody area. I made extra sure about never stepping on blood. When I was at the police station, I’ve checked my soles for any signs of blood—just in case I’d need to sue for getting diseases. Oops, sorry for my insensitive remarks, Shannon. I’m not saying you had any diseases, but better safe than sorry is my motto.”

  “I can imagine that.” Shannon nodded. “If I were you, I’d avoid potential contact with blood.”

  Arms crossed, Rick was listening to his words in silence. When he uncrossed his arms, Brian snapped his fingers before he said anything. “Hey, I just remembered something super important.”

  “What?” Rick quizzically raised one eyebrow.

  “While they tried to help Shannon, Darrel was taking a video of the scene.”

  “What did you just say?” Shannon’s eyebrows shot up to the north.

  “I said Darrel was shooting a video of people trying to resuscitate you,” he said, sounding apologetic.

  Shannon’s face turned crimson. “That little…”

  “Come on, Shannon. You’ve got to take a deep breath and relax, okay?” Jackie clasped her shoulders. “We have young and innocent ears with us, so…”

  “Oh, you’re right.” Shannon shook her head. “Don’t worry. I just got a little upset. That guy tends to get on my nerves.”

  Rick turned to Detective Rogers. “Detective, we need to seize Darrel’s phone and have the CSI check out the facial treatment room floor for bloody footprints.”

  “Fine.” She nodded and looked at Matt. “You heard him, right?”

  “Sure. I’m on it.” He turned on his heels and went out of the locker room.

  When the detective and the CSI went out of the room, Shannon tilted her head. “By the way, who killed me?”

  CHAPTER 11

  Five minutes later, we were still in the locker room. With Brian able to work as a liaison with Shannon, I could have gone back to the reception area with Sophie, but when I started pushing the stroller out of the locker room, she booed.

  Yup, you heard me right. Our one-year-old daughter booed like she was channeling one of those disgruntled baseball fans.

  Anyway, Jackie translated, “She wants to stay here and see Daddy working,” so I changed my plan, and stayed there. Do I need to say how much Rick was delighted?

  “Thank you for coming, Mr. Clement.” Detective Rogers greeted Robin as he came into the locker room.

  “Well…” He looked around himself, looking unsure. “I believe I’ve already told you everything I know.”

  “That’s almost true,” Rick agreed. “Except for the part about killing Shannon.”

  For a moment, the young esthetician’s face froze. “Pardon me? I have no idea…”

  “Stop playing dumb already!” Shannon snapped.

  “Look, Robin. I remember Shannon talking about you,” Brian interjected. “According to her, you begged her not to quit this spa. When she said no, you tried to convince her to take you with her to the new spa.”

  Robin’s right eye twitched. “Well, I was just…kidding.”

  I could see his attempt to keep his face as expressionless as possible, but he was failing.

  “For your info, that’s not even funny,” Detective Rogers chimed in.

  “You had a crush on Shannon, right, Robin? Why did you kill her?” Brian said in a calm tone.

  “Why are you accusing me of her murder? You have nothing against me, do you?” Robin’s face was hard to read, but his voice was hoarse.

  “As for evidence, the detective over there and her CSI staff found it.” Rick indicated Detective Rogers and Matt. “They found your footprints with traces of Shannon’s blood on the facial treatment floor.”
>
  “I had blood on the soles of my shoes when I helped with performing CPR on Shannon.” Robin’s jaw tightened. “I must have brought blood to the facial treatment room when I went back there.”

  “That’s not true.” Detective Rogers shook her head. “Darrel Murphy happened to be shooting a video of the situation.”

  Robin didn’t say anything, but his face blanched.

  Detective Rogers went on, “In the video, the entrance of the facial treatment room was captured. Now that you remember not returning to the facial treatment room, right? The video shows everything about you not returning to the facial treatment room after you’d helped others with Shannon’s CPR. And, here’s a problem; when and how did your bloody footprints appear on that room’s floor?”

  “The footprints were…” Robin tried to say something, but the words failed him.

  “You switched off the dryer in the laundry room, in an attempt to keep Darrel in there, right?” Rick interjected. “You knew Brian’s tendency to fall asleep while being treated. Also, when he’s sleep talking, he sounds like he is fully alert—which might serve as another factor to solidify your alibi. So, you snuck out of the facial treatment room while Brian was sleeping. Then you killed off Shannon and came back inside like nothing had happened. Thanks to the floor being black, your bloody footprints didn’t stand out that much.”

  Robin frowned and clenched his hands into fists. As he started to tremble, Shannon glared at him with sharp eyes.

  “Why did you kill me?” she demanded, looking at me and then at Brian as if she desperately wanted her message to be delivered to her killer.

  Brian gave the ghost a slight nod and turned to Robin. “Why do you think she rejected your pleas to take you with her to the new salon?”

  “That’s because…she wanted to do nothing with me, and…” Robin said through the gritted teeth.

  “That’s not true.” Brian shook his head. “She’d once mentioned to me about her schedule to move to a new spa. When I said something along the lines of ‘Perhaps I’d have to change my choice of spa to your new workplace,’ she told me that wasn’t possible as her new workplace exclusively treats female clients.”

  “What? Oh…” Shock registered on Robin’s face. “Was she moving to a female-clients-only spa?”

  “Yes, I was,” Shannon muttered.

  “Yes, she was.” Brian nodded. “A spa for female clients run by female workers.”

  “Oh my God… What have I done?” Robin’s eyes welled up with tears. “I…I committed a murder for the…wrong reason.”

  “I’m pretty much tempted to punch him in the nose.” Jackie pumped her fists by my side.

  “I know,” Shannon mumbled, but she sounded shocked.

  “Why did you kill her in this spa’s locker room?” Rick interjected. “Killing someone in a closed place is never a good move—it limits the number of suspects, making it easier to determine whodunit.”

  “Last week, I caught her talking to her next employer on the phone as she made sure everything was in place… And, she said no, she couldn’t refer me to her new workplace…and…” Robin said between sobs and hiccups.

  “Hmm, this place sort of symbolized her parting from you,” Rick commented.

  “Why did you choose Sonictron as the murder weapon?” Brian crossed his arms. “You could have killed her by strangulation. Did you try to frame me for the murder of Shannon?”

  “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble, Mr. Powers… I couldn’t bear to see her suffer in agony, and I wanted everything to end soon…” Robin mumbled. “I’ve read somewhere you have to keep strangling for at least three minutes. I couldn’t do that…”

  “Hello? You’ve killed her anyway,” Jackie snapped at him.

  “It’s not like I’d fantasized about becoming her boyfriend or anything like that… but I felt extremely happy to be just working together with her. But she was leaving for good, and I wouldn’t be able to see her…much less talk to her. I think I had gone crazy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about ending her life…by my own hand…”

  Rick was listening to Robin in silence. Before he opened his mouth, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously, I’ve never heard such a selfish reason for killing a person.”

  “Look, Robin. Here’s one thing I want you to understand.” Brian put one hand on Rick’s upper arm as he clenched his fists. “No matter how far she went, you would have had a chance to become a special someone for Shannon as long as she was alive.”

  “I couldn’t imagine that.” Robin shook his head.

  “You know what?” Rick chimed in. “Brian here fell in love with a lady. It was love at first sight.”

  “Hey, what are you?” Brian hissed, grabbing Rick’s sleeve.

  Shrugging him off, Rick went on. “But back then, she was married to a worthless idiot, but now she’s working with Brian as his secretary. Not only that, she’s living with him. Impressed, huh? If only Shannon was still alive, you might have had a chance to start a relationship with her.”

  “I… I…” Robin looked at Rick and then at Brian.

  Rick’s face turned serious. “I know you’ll be spending a long time in prison. Always remember you traded your potential happily ever after with your alone time in a prison cell.”

  “I’m an idiot…” Robin held his head in his hands and crumpled to the floor.

  Detective Rogers cleared her throat. “Robin Clement, you are under arrest for the murder of Shannon Kavanaugh.”

  EPILOGUE

  After Robin Clement was escorted out by two officers in uniform, Detective Rogers turned to us, thanking us for our cooperation.

  “It’s okay, Detective. We did what we could do as law-abiding citizens.” Rick offered a smile to the detective. His tone was modest, sounding almost out of character.

  “Wah!” Sophie waved at Detective Rogers as she left, and when the detective turned and waved back at her, she was so delighted.

  When Sophie was done with saying bye-bye to the detective, Rick turned to Brian. “You’re welcome. Good thing we’ve managed to bail you out of the potential prosecution for a murder you never committed, and—”

  “Fine! You don’t have to be sarcastic like that!” Brian threw his arms up in the air as he interrupted Rick midsentence.

  “Sarcastic? Who? Me?” Rick showed his palms in a mock confusion.

  “Thank you for coming and standing up for me,” Brian said. Turning to Sophie and me, he went on. “Mandy, I can’t thank you enough for convincing the detective that I’m not a fraud. And, Sophie, thank you so much for sticking with me for a long time. I know you were enjoying your fun time at home with your Mommy and Jackie.”

  “Goo!” Sophie giggled as he bent down to meet her eyes.

  “Sophie says it’s okay,” Jackie interpreted.

  “Really? Thank you so much. And, Jackie, thanks a lot for helping me.”

  “No prob. We’re like a big, extended family, you know.” Jackie gave him a thumbs-up.

  Rick cleared his throat. “Hey, why do I feel like you appreciate me less?”

  “Come on, I appreciate you enough, Mr. Look-at-me.” Brian patted his shoulder, prompting me to snort and laugh.

  “Hey, it’s not supposed to be the punchline,” Rick complained.

  Brian looked at Shannon. “Oh, where are my manners? I haven’t thanked you for remembering the events that happened to you, Shannon. Thank you for everything. It must have been tough for you.”

  “Oh, no. Mr. Powers, I’m the one feeling very thankful for you.” Shannon offered him a weak smile. She turned to me. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Rowling, Sophie. Oh, please send my gratitude to Mr. Rowling, okay? And, Jackie, thank you for being there for me.”

  “Guess what, Rick? Shannon sends you a huge thanks,” I informed him.

  “That’s good to hear.” A corner of his lips quirked up into a smile.

  “So, Shannon, were you able to have some kind of a closure by listening to Robin’s c
onfession?” Brian asked, his face serious.

  “Well…” Shannon frowned. “I’m growing confused. A part of me feels I was partially guilty for what had happened to me.”

  “No way! Nothing is your fault!” Brian, Jackie, and I said in unison.

  “Shannon, please don’t blame yourself for your death, please,” Jackie said. “When I was newly dead, I sometimes felt that way, but the killer is a hundred percent to be blamed.”

  “You don’t need to forgive Robin for what he did,” Rick interjected as I relayed her words to him. “He’s the one to be blamed, and he’ll face the consequences for what he’d committed.”

  “Yes… Thank you.” Shannon smiled again. This time, she seemed to be more relaxed.

  “Hey, Shannon, you suspected you’d been killed because you’d learned about someone’s secret, right?” Rick asked.

  “Oh, yes. Turned out I was wrong.” She shook her head.

  “And the secret wasn’t about Robin, am I correct?”

  “You’re correct.”

  “So, whose secret were you talking about? And what was that?” Rick went on with questioning the ghost.

  “I can’t disclose that information,” Shannon said matter-of-factly, flashing the cool smile she had on when I saw her for the first time. “I have to stick with the confidentiality clause.”

  “Okay.” Rick chuckled.

  “Oh my God, Shannon.” Jackie jumped. “Your head trauma is healing!”

  “Oh?” The ghost reached for her head previously soaked in blood. As she looked at her fair-skinned hand, a smile appeared on her face.

  A warm shade of light appeared in the locker room, and she floated up until she became invisible.

  “She’s departed to a better world,” Brian muttered.

  “Mr. Powers?” Kevin appeared at the entrance of the locker room. “You have a visitor.”

  “Fiona!” Brian went running toward her, holding her in a tight embrace.

  “What’s this, Brian? Why are you in a bathrobe? And why are Mandy, Rick, and Sophie are all here?” She looked truly confused.