The dark haired man turned his attention away from his partner and squinted into the woods.
Jonelle shifted farther back, trying to stay in the shadows. She huddled behind another tree. She could still see the two techs and prayed they couldn’t see her.
“What’re you lookin’ at?” the short one said, glaring at his partner.
“Thought I saw something move over there.”
He followed his co-worker’s gaze. “Yeah, well, I don’t see nuthin’.”
The tall one turned back to his partner. He stooped down and opened a rectangular black case. “Still, we should put some tape around those trees to block that opening over there. Just in case somebody decides to get nosy.”
He removed a spool of yellow and black tape and walked over to the woods. The tech quickly wrapped the tape around two trees on either side of the entrance to the bridle trail and rejoined the other man who looked up from inspecting his shoe.
“Guess we’re done for now, until somebody says different. I gotta go change my shoes.”
“Whine, whine, whine. It’s just horseshit for crissakes!”
Jonelle watched the two men pick up their cases and move away. As they did so, it became clear they were working at the hole where Manross was found. Jonelle debated what to do.
There was no point in going over to look at the hole. She knew the body was gone. Later she’d call Detective Tankersley. Maybe he’d be able to tell her something about how Manross died.
As Jonelle turned to make her way back down the path, an object glinted on the ground in front of her. Curious, she bent over to get a better look.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
Jonelle searched her pockets for a tissue but came up empty. Scanning the immediate area for something, anything, she could use, she reached down and picked up a large, green leaf. Carefully, gently, she gathered up the object.
“Oh, boy.”
Holding the item close to her face, Jonelle stared at the long plastic syringe in her hand, empty, and with the needle still attached.
CHAPTER 22
“Could be kids doing drugs, you know,” Adrienne said, poking the syringe with a pencil eraser.
“Will you stop doing that!” Jonelle reached over and snatched the pencil from Adrienne’s hand.
“She may be right,” Sheila added. “I can see kids going up there near the cemetery and shooting up. This doesn’t have to be related to whatever happened to Manross.”
They sat around Jonelle’s dining room table drinking coffee. In addition to the syringe, laid out in the middle on a white cloth napkin, was the cigarette butt she found in the cemetery’s parking lot and the cigarette from Manross.
“Still, don’t you think it’s curious that I found this near where his body was discovered lying in that hole? Take a good look at it. Looks really clean, like it hasn’t been there too long, right?”
Adrienne and Sheila peered closely at the syringe.
“Hmm. You may be right about that,” Sheila said.
“Well, I guess you’ve got a good point.” Adrienne’s hand reached for the pencil again.
Jonelle moved it out of her grasp. “Look but don’t touch. I think it’s time for me to let the police know what I’ve found.”
Adrienne frowned. “Which is what, exactly? You’ve got cigarettes and a used syringe. Way I see it, you’ve got a strange fixation on picking up other people’s trash.”
“Don’t forget the threatening note Kenny gave me.” Jonelle got up and walked into her office. She returned with the note, encased in a large plastic freezer bag.
She cautioned her friends, “Only hold it around the edges.”
“It’s in plastic, for Pete’s sake,” Adrienne said. She passed the note to Sheila.
Both women remained silent as Jonelle recounted the incident with the strange white man at the zoo.
“You think all of this is connected?” Sheila handed the note back to Jonelle.
Jonelle nodded. “I think the man who gave Kenny this note and the man at the zoo are one and the same. I believe he had something to do with me being pushed in the shed at the track. I think he smokes, and he’s been following me because he’s somehow linked to the fact that Del’s body is missing. What his connection is to Manross, I have no idea. If I can find out who he is, everything will probably fall into place.”
Adrienne leaned back in her chair and squinted at Jonelle. “My biggest problem with all this is still why? Why Del? Why move his body? Seems to me leaving him six feet under was the best thing that could happen. Sorry, but that’s how I feel. Why don’t you just go to Marvin with what you found out?”
“I can’t. Not yet, anyway. You guys know how he is. Sometimes he treats me like I’m ten years old. He’ll just take over everything. Afraid I’ll get hurt or something. Well,”—she touched her forehead—“it’s a little late for that. Besides, I have a good feeling about Detective Tankersley. I’m going to turn what I have so far over to him. He may think it’s worth something. Or he may not.” Jonelle pushed herself away from the table. “I’m gonna put this note back. Anyone want more coffee?”
Both women shook their heads.
“Well, I do.” Jonelle went back to her office and tucked the note into the file cabinet. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself another cup.
Returning to the table, she said, “When I answer the question of who this mystery man is, why Del’s body was moved will be obvious. It may even be that this man is the one who caused the hit and run that killed Del in the first place.” She sipped her coffee.
“Thought that was an accident,” Sheila said.
“Me, too,” Adrienne added.
“Maybe, maybe not.” Jonelle put down the mug. “I remember the police report said a witness saw Del stagger from the saloon, apparently very drunk. This same witness said Del walked in front of the path of the truck. The thing that’s always bothered me about that is no matter what Del’s other issues were, one thing about him was that he was never sloppy about anything. He never wanted to lose control. Ever. To say he was so drunk he could barely walk, well, that wasn’t the Del I knew.”
Adrienne and Sheila glanced at each other. “Maybe he was upset about something,” Sheila said.
“So now you think the mysterious white guy is the one who drove the truck and had something to do with Del’s dying in the first place? I’m gonna have to get those true crime shows blocked from your TV,” Adrienne said, getting up and going to the kitchen. “I’m getting hungry. You got anything to eat in here?”
“There’re some peanut butter crackers in the cabinet.”
Adrienne stomped back to the dining room. Her eyes widened. “Crackers? I’m lookin’ for food here, girlfriend.” Adrienne smiled at Sheila. “Now, I bet you’ve got something good to eat at your place, am I right?”
“Knock it off, Adrienne. Sheila doesn’t have to feed you. Besides, it’s her day off.”
Adrienne pointed to Sheila’s peach linen slacks and sleeveless blouse. “That’s why you’re dressed, uh, normal?”
“Said the pot to the kettle.” Jonelle rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
Sheila threw her head back and laughed. “Watching you two is better than watching old Laverne and Shirley reruns.”
“I got an idea,” Adrienne said with a gleam in her eye. “How about I run up to that gorgeous Mr. Yee’s place and ask him for something to eat. Bet he’s got some Chinese food. Moo goo gai pan or somethin’.”
“Let’s see what you’ve done in the span of a few minutes,” Jonelle said, sighing dramatically. She raised her hand to tick off the points on her fingers. “First, you sit here and nearly destroy valuable evidence—”
“Evidence of what?” Adrienne asked.
“Second,” Jonelle said, ignoring the question, “you insult Sheila, and, third, you make a racist comment. You’re three for three here.”
Adrienne glanced from Jonelle to Sheila, a wounded look on her face. “I
apologize if I said something offensive.” She sniffed. “But I am no racist.”
“The man’s of Chinese descent so you assume he’s gotta have Chinese food? Gimme a break.”
“Ladies, please,” Sheila said, trying hard not to grin. “Jonelle, I have some news for you about that house.”
Adrienne cut in. “The porno palace the cops raided?”
Jonelle glared at her best friend. “Porno palace? Adrienne, this is not funny.”
“Well, what do you call it? The hoochie-coochie hut? The perv emporium?”
Jonelle put her arms on the table, leaned over, and, in a stage whisper, said to Sheila, “If we ignore her, maybe she’ll go away.”
Giggling, Sheila reached down and took out a small leather-bound notepad and matching eyeglass case from the purse on the floor beside her chair. She put on a pair of black-framed reading glasses and opened up the pad.
“Glasses? You kiddin’ me?”
“Shut up, Adrienne.” To Sheila, Jonelle asked, “What did you find out?”
Sheila scanned her notes. “I want to make sure I get this right. My friend Lana has this client who is heavily into real estate. She told him she was interested in buying the, uh, house”—she smiled over at Adrienne—“but since there was no sign advertising it for sale or rent, she didn’t know who to contact.” She read silently for a few seconds. “Okay. Here’s the important stuff. He gave her the name of the title company that holds the deed to the place. She searched the Web and found out the place is actually owned by a conglomerate. This same company owns a lot of real estate in what used to be called the red-light district in Baltimore, plus clothing stores and boutiques specializing in, shall we say, novelty items. Fact is, I have actually shopped at a few of them on occasion.”
Sheila paused and looked up, waiting for Adrienne to say something. When nothing was forthcoming, she continued. “I made a list of the businesses and searched the internet for the names of the CEOs, CFOs, presidents, veeps, anybody like that. What I found out was kind of interesting.
“On a hunch, I searched the names of three men at the very top of the chain and got more information. I discovered one was the head honcho at an accounting firm in the county. Guess what it’s called?” She stopped and looked at Jonelle.
Jonelle shrugged. “How would I know?”
Instead of answering, Sheila turned over the pad and pushed it in front of Jonelle. “Check out the name I underlined.”
Jonelle frowned at the page in front of her. Realization washed over her. “I can’t believe it!”
“What? What?” Adrienne got up and peered over Jonelle’s shoulder.
“Hey, isn’t that where Del worked? Well, this shit just keeps gettin’ curiouser and curiouser, huh Alice?”
“Now I see the connection. But why pick on Del? He was just a mid-level accountant there.” Jonelle shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
“Maybe he wanted more money,” Adrienne said. “And these guys mighta offered him extra cash to keep the books for them. You always said he was really good at what he did and got upset when he wasn’t promoted.”
“That’s a possibility I guess.”
Sheila retrieved the pad and continued. “One of the things I asked Lana to find out is whose name the house was rented under. She told me it was someone named Sandra Dee Montgomery. I found out this Montgomery woman was Human Resources Manager at this same accounting firm.”
Jonelle shook her head over and over. “And she’s one of the people arrested for running prostitution out of that house. Detective Tankersley told me that. So she and Del also worked together at the same firm.”
Jonelle got up from the dining room table and paced back and forth near the aquarium. She fiddled with her necklace. On her third pass, her eyes landed on the black molly still showing signs of white spot disease. “Damn, almost forgot. I picked up some medicine for the fish. Go on, Sheila. What else did you find out?”
While Jonelle went over to the aquarium to separate the infected black molly from the large tank into a smaller bowl, Sheila explained the rent on the house was twenty-five hundred per month, which was always paid on time.
“One thing I still don’t understand,” Adrienne said. “How come neighbors didn’t call the police? All neighborhoods have at least one nosy busybody. Like you, Jonelle, with Mathilda the mouth next door.”
Sheila shrugged. “What would they say?”
“Exactly,” Jonelle said. “Detective Tankersley said everyone at the house was quiet and kept to themselves. A bunch of people going in and out, some of them kids, wouldn’t really seem odd especially if it was the same kids. People could’ve just assumed it was maybe some kinda halfway house or something. That, plus the fact it sits somewhat far from the road, with tall trees all around.”
Jonelle retrieved the medicine from a cabinet underneath the aquarium.
“Says here I need to wear gloves for this. Go on, Sheila. Anything else?”
“That’s about it. The owners can’t sell it or anything yet because the police still have the investigation open into what was actually going on in the house.”
“So, Jonnie, what are you gonna do?” Adrienne asked.
Jonelle pulled on a pair of yellow latex gloves. “Got to do some digging on my own. I’m definitely gonna have a little chat with Sandra Dee. Tankersley said she’s out on bond. Shouldn’t be too hard to find out where she lives since I’m still pretty good friends with a few of the clerks in Del’s old office. I’ll give one of them a call.” She pointed to Sheila’s pad. “Can I get a copy of those notes? There may be something else in there that I can use.”
“You can have the pages if you want,” Sheila said, tearing several sheets from the pad and handing them to Jonelle. “But I promised Lana that I wouldn’t involve her in anything you found out.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t mention her name to anyone. Thanks. I’ve got a file I’m putting all this stuff in.”
“I’m still hungry,” Adrienne called out.
Jonelle went to the kitchen and started mixing the medicine for the fish.
Adrienne wrinkled her nose. “Wow, that stinks. Smells kinda familiar, though.”
“Phew, that stuff does smell,” Sheila said. She pushed herself away from the table and stood to leave. “Well, not that I wouldn’t like to stay and chat some more with you two, but I’ve got some shopping to do. Anything else I can help you with, just let me know.”
“Thanks,” Jonelle said. “You’re the best. Okay to let yourself out? Don’t wanna touch the door with this stuff.”
“Not a problem. Just stay where you are. I’ll talk to you later. Take care, Adrienne, and please don’t scare our Mr. Yee. This place wouldn’t be the same without his music floating in the hallway.”
Adrienne shook her head. “You’re as bad as Jonelle. I’m not gonna scare the man,” she muttered. “All I want is something to eat.”
Sheila walked to the door and called out. “Hear that Jonnie? If you feed her something, she’ll leave the poor man alone.”
Jonelle walked into the dining room. “See you later, Sheila.”
Sheila opened the door to let herself out of Jonelle’s condo. “Oops. Oh, hi, Marvin. Hey Jonelle, your uncle Marvin’s here.”
“Get rid of that,” Jonelle hissed at Adrienne. She nodded at the items on the cloth. “Just close it up and put it in a drawer in the kitchen.”
Adrienne frowned. “Why—”
“Just do it!”
Mumbling under her breath, Adrienne closed the cloth around the syringe, cigarette and cigarette butt. She walked into the kitchen and put the bundle in a utility drawer.
After inquiring about Sheila’s health, Marvin nodded goodbye and shut the door. In his hand he held a large pizza box. He turned and looked around Jonelle’s condo as if trying to discover if anything had changed since the last time he was there. Jonelle stood still, watching her uncle’s eyes sweep the apartment.
Adrienne stood betwe
en the kitchen and dining room. She cleared her throat. “Uh, hi, Captain. I didn’t hear you buzz. What you got there?”
“Good seeing you, Adrienne. Mr. Yee was leaving and let me in. I’ve got a large with everything, except anchovies and onion. How about you grab us some plates, Jonnie?”
Walking over to the dining room table, Marvin put the box down.
Jonelle rushed to the kitchen, pulling off her gloves. She threw them under the sink and washed and dried her hands. She grabbed three plates, some parmesan cheese, and hot pepper flakes from the cabinet.
“I was just saying I needed to call you,” Jonelle said, setting the items down. “Right, Adrienne?”
“Uh huh.” Adrienne’s eyes never left the box.
“Is that a fact? I’ve been calling and leaving messages. Since you haven’t returned my calls, I decided to pay you a visit.” He sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”
“It’s the medicine I’m using to treat my black molly,” Jonelle said. She went back to the kitchen and returned with air freshener. A few spritzes later, the air became less oppressive.
Adrienne reached over and grabbed a slice of pizza. She took a huge bite. “Mmm. Boy this hits the spot.” She sprinkled on cheese and pepper flakes.
“You know, uncle Marvin, this really is good,” Jonelle said. “Anybody want anything to drink? Soda? Water? Wine?”
Marvin nodded. “Water’s fine.”
“I think I’d like a diet. Stay here, Jonnie. I’ll get the drinks.” Adrienne took another huge bite and rushed to the kitchen.
Marvin pointed to a spot on the side of Jonelle’s head. “What happened to you?”
Jonelle reached up and fingered the bruise. “Sounds stupid, but I bumped into something in the dark. You know what a klutz I can be sometimes.”
Adrienne returned and placed a bottle of water in front of Jonelle and Marvin. She settled back into her seat, diet cola in hand. “Oh, Boy.” Talking around a mouth full of pizza, she added, “This is great.”
Burial Plot (A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 1) Page 15
