I pulled into the parking lot of Leroy’s Bar and Grill, my stomach rumbling from the smell of the pizza box on my back seat. I wasn’t sure whether meeting Shaunda would help solve the mystery surrounding Daisy’s death or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to get to know the mother of the boy I was trying to befriend.
Make friends with the mother and maybe the son wouldn’t kill me.
6
Not wanting Matt to worry anymore, I texted to let him know where we were eating and followed a young girl to a table in a darkened corner. Norma had requested a table in Shaunda’s area and the hostess was happy to oblige.
Before our waitress approached our table, Matt strolled through the door, glanced around the room, then made a beeline to our table. He sat between Norma and I, fixing me with his stare. “What’s the topic of conversation, ladies?”
“Girl talk.” Norma smiled and leaned back in her chair. I wanted to tell her that feminine wiles wouldn’t work on my detective boyfriend, but decided to sit back and enjoy the show.
“Is that so? It wouldn’t be because Jamal Brown’s mother works here, would it? Is that why you chose Leroy’s?”
Norma’s smile never faltered. Oh, she was good. She leaned forward, her already low dress slipping lower. “I come here for the food, detective.”
I would never resort to such measures to throw a man off his train of thought, but couldn’t help but enjoy Norma’s efforts, which I was correct about not having any chance of success. A muscle ticked in Matt’s jaw
He straightened as our waitress arrived.
“Hello, Norma.” The woman’s cold tone could have froze the Bahamas into a new ice age. “What can I get you and your friends to drink?”
“I’ll have tea,” Matt said.
I ordered the same, with Norma ordering a glass of wine. How did she still walk on her high heels? This had to be her third glass of the night.
“Hey, Shaunda. We’ll have our orders when you get back.” Norma tilted her head at Matt. “What makes you suspect we’re up to no good?”
“The pizza box in Stormi’s back seat for one. She didn’t have it there earlier. So, if you’ve already eaten, why come to a burger joint which serves enough food for several people off one order? Unless, you’re here fishing for information.” He unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap.
I had hoped Matt might have forgotten I was there, but no such luck. He turned to me. “If you didn’t eat the pizza, who did?”
“I gave it to Jamal.”
Norma threw up her hands. “You don’t have to tell your boyfriend everything you do in your life.”
“We’re working on no more secrets, aren’t we, Stormi?” Matt’s features looked set in granite.
I nodded. “I’m trying to befriend the boy, to, uh … show him another side of life.” Not a lie, exactly. I would like nothing more than to pull him away from the gang life.
His stare deepened, but he didn’t say anything until our drinks arrived and we all ordered bacon cheeseburgers. Once Shaunda had left, order pad in hand, he turned back to me. “Why are you really here? You can stop shaking your head, Norma. I see you out of the corner of my eye.”
“We wanted to question Shaunda about some rumors we, or rather,Norma, heard about Daisy.” I bent my head and concentrated on tearing the paper around my straw into a billion pieces.
“Girl, your mouth flaps at both ends.” Norma threw her straw at me.
“What rumors?” Matt, thankfully, transferred his attention back to Norma.
She proceeded to tell him what she had told me. “That’s all I know. Speculation.”
“Was someone killed that we don’t know about?” I asked, lifting my head and sweeping my pile of paper into my hand. I dropped them in the basket that held artificial sugars.
“If it wasn’t on the news, you don’t need to know about it.”
“Was it on the news?”
Matt’s eyes narrowed. “Stop asking questions; of me or anyone else. You’re treading on dangerous ground.”
“I haven’t asked anyone other than you any questions.” Yet. “I told you I would be discreet and careful. I fully intend to do just that.”
“Look, detective.” Norma placed a well-manicured hand over his, removing it when he glared at it. “I’m doing all of the footwork on this one. Stormi is only my consultant.”
“She’s a romance writer, not a crime solver!” He rolled his head on his neck. “Let the police handle this.”
“I don’t have a lot of faith in the police, no offense.” Norma sat back in her chair as Shaunda brought our burgers.
“Y’all ain’t talking about my boy, are you?” She glanced at Norma. “He ain’t bothering you?”
She waved off her concern. “Jamal is fine.”
Shaunda nodded, glancing at me, then moved on to another table.
Matt lowered his voice. “Regardless of your personal feelings, the police are now involved. Further questioning on either of your parts will force me to arrest you for interfering with a murder investigation.”
Oh, he was mad. He had threatened to arrest me before, but this was the first time I believed he might actually follow through on the threat. “I told you we weren’t questioning anyone. I’m trying to get a kid off the streets so he doesn’t end up like Daisy.” I crossed my arms.
“Noble, but unwise considering the circumstances.” Matt bit into his burger.
“I need to use the restroom.” Hopefully, Matt won’t have noticed Shaunda ducking into the ladies room. “Norma?”
“If you two aren’t back in three minutes, I’m coming after you,” Matt said. “If you try to sneak out, I’ll follow you.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back.” I grabbed Norma’s arm and dragged her after me.
Shaunda was leaning against the sink when we darted inside. “What’s going on? Don’t lie to me. I’m a mother. I can spot a lie through two inch mud.”
“Did Jamal know Daisy?” I figured bluntness would work best.
“I try to keep him away from those sluts, but yes, they dated for a while last year.” Shaunda sighed heavily. “Then, she broke if off real sudden like. Broke my boy’s heart.”
“Enough to kill her?”
“What are you accusing him of? Jamal might get in trouble now and then, but he never lays a hand on a girl. I taught him better than that.” She leaned closer. “Or are you accusing me? I’ll do anything for my boy, but I won’t murder. Besides, how would I get my hands on poison ivy in the winter? Now, you two leave me and my boy alone.” She reached for the door.
“I’m trying to befriend him to get him out of the gang.”
“That’s mighty white of you. Stay away from me and mine.”
“Hey!” Few things made me madder than racism. I squeezed between her and the door. “If you want me to stay away because you’re his mother, that’s one thing, but you leave race and skin color out of it. I don’t deserve that type of treatment.”
Shaunda’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I just worry about my boy. I didn’t mean that. If you can get him away from that life, I will be forever grateful.” She rushed out, leaving me and Norma alone.
Or so I thought, until the toilet flushed. Norma and I ducked into the handicap stall. I peered through the space between the door and the wall. Ginger, her dyed red hair piled high on her head, washed her hands at the sink. After drying them on paper towels, she turned.
“You can come out now. I know you’re in there.”
Like children caught stealing cookies, we shuffled from the stall. “You two are the worst snoops ever,” she said. “If you’re going to question someone in the bathroom, you should always check the other stalls first.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Time’s up,” Matt called out.
Ginger laughed. “The cops are here. Time for two nosy Nelly’s to go home. Watch your backs, ladies.”
“What does she mean by that?” I hissed as she went out the door first.
&n
bsp; Norma shrugged. “Seems like everyone is threatening us.”
We followed Matt to our table.
“It looked like a regular party in there,” he said. “You two must have been in heaven with the questions.”
I shrugged. “Shaunda wanted us to clarify why we were interested in her son and Ginger just happened be in the stall. It was all very innocent.”
“Sure it was.” He finished his hamburger, threw a couple of twenty dollar bills on the table, then kissed me goodbye. “Drop Norma off and come straight home. I mean it.”
“Yes, Dad.” I grinned to take the bite off my words.
“That is why I don’t settle down.” Norma bit into a French-fry. “I don’t want any man telling me what to do.”
“It’s more like Matt suggests and I might or might not do as he suggested.” While feelings ran hot between us, no words of love had left either of our lips. I felt the words, but saying them seemed like a loss of freedom. Although I wrote romance books, I was completely messed up in that department.
“You might as well take me home.” Norma slung her purse over her arm. “Just pull into the driveway. There’s no reason for you to get out of the car.”
I did as she suggested, then headed home. Sure enough, Matt was waiting in his car. I parked, and he followed me into the house.
“What did you find out in the restroom?” He asked as soon as I closed the front door.
“Ginger told us to watch our backs.” I led the way into the kitchen. “And Shaunda told us that Jamal and Daisy were dating. She broke it off suddenly, leaving him devastated. That was it. A very unproductive interview.”
“Not exactly. I didn’t know that Jamal and Daisy had been an item.” Matt sat at the table, smiling a welcome as Mom entered the kitchen.
“What’s my daughter been up to now?”
“Her usual snooping.”
“Greta and I already told her that a gang is nothing to mess with.” Mom grabbed a glass from the cabinet. “Greta used to work undercover, posing as a landlord for a building one of the gangs lived in. Nasty business. The things that went on there would curdle your blood.”
“That’s gross, Mom.” I tossed Matt a can of soda and grabbed a diet one for myself.
“I’m just saying that this is a mystery the Hickory Hellos need to stay out of.”
“I agree,” Matt said. “If you want to visit with Norma, have her come here.”
“Doesn’t it make more sense to snoop openly so the bad guys think we’re on the up and up?” I took a big gulp of my drink. “If I stop going over there now, after being threatened, they’ll think I actually had a reason to get threatened.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Mom said.
“It does to me. I can’t stop going to Norma’s house all of a sudden. Not without a good reason.” I opened the back door and let Sadie out. She dashed across the yard after a squirrel. “If you come up with a reason Jamal and his buddies will believe, then I’ll stop going.”
“Sure you will.” Mom filled her glass with ice water. “I like a good mystery as well as the next person, but my shop keeps me busy. I can’t be protecting you.”
Matt choked on his drink.
Mom pounded him on the back. “I’m being serious, Matthew. I’m the one with common sense of the two of us. If not for me, there’s no telling what mischief my daughter would get into.” She sighed dramatically. “You’d think at her age that I could stop worrying as much. Not with Stormi.”
“Very funny.” I drained the rest of my soda and tossed my can in the recycle bin.
Something exploded out front, blowing out the front windows and setting off every car alarm in the neighborhood. Matt tackled me to the floor. Mom joined us, peering over the windowsill.
“Looks like you have a good reason not to visit Norma now,” Mom said. “Your car is on fire.”
I’d finally gotten something blown up.
7
“Stay here.” Matt made a quick call to the precinct on his cell phone, another to the fire department, then dashed outside.
Of course Mom and I followed, earning us a frustrated glance from Matt. “It’s a good thing no one was in the car,” Mom said.
I inched as close as the heat would allow. “Somebody was.”
Who in Hades would have been sitting in my car. I pulled out my cell phone and sent a group text to the members of my family stating we needed an emergency check-in. Seconds later, I’d gotten three texts confirming everyone was fine, but wanting to know what was going on. I didn’t answer. They’d find out as soon as they arrived home.
Dakota beat the fire truck. He hopped off his skateboard, narrowly missing my feet. “Whoa. Exciting. Is that a body?”
“Move back.” Matt waved his hand as the fire truck, followed by two squad cars, roared up the driveway.
The cheeseburger I had eaten jammed up my throat, threatening to burst free. The air was filled with the stench of burning pork. If only it had been a side of ham left in my car and not some unsuspecting stranger. By now, my neighbors were staring from their yards, reassuring me that the body wasn’t one of theirs. I’m sure it didn’t make some of them look more favorably on me as a neighbor, but that was their problem.
The fire department had the fire out in short order and the emergency technicians laid the body in a black bag and zipped it shut. Matt spoke with them for a few minutes, then joined us by the porch.
“It will take a few days before we have a positive ID,” he said. “If I can tell you who it is, I will. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the news like everyone else.”
The three local channel television station reporters rushed toward the house like piranhas. I skirted past Mom and dashed into the house. Their shouted questions squeezed through even the miniscule cracks in the house.
“Miss Nelson! Do you know who the body in the car is?”
“Can you give us a quick comment?”
Was my mother invisible? She loved the limelight. Why couldn’t they leave me alone and pester her?
“Are you going to write another book based on today’s happenings?”
They converged on the porch, peering through the curtains. I made a dash for the kitchen, stopping short and screaming at a face plastered against the kitchen window. Sadie barked and scratched at the glass, trying in vain to get to our unwanted visitor. I headed upstairs to the sanctuary of my office, leaving Matt and the other officers to deal with the reporters.
Of course the car blowing up would go in my next book. I buried my face in my hands. I loved that car. Still, it was only a material possession. My heart ached at the person who had endured the fiery death.
Another glance out the window showed my mother animatedly talking to the reporters and Matt behind them waving his arms in a vain attempt to get her to stop talking. My nerves rang like a church bell. What in heaven’s name could she possibly be telling them?
I raced downstairs, whipped open the front door, grabbed her arm, and then dragged her inside, which started the reporters’ questions all over again.
“Miss Nelson, are you the target of a gang?”
“Do you know who was in your car?”
“Can you tell us who the gang leader is?”
I slammed the door. “Mom, what did you tell them?”
“I believe in the papers printing only the truth. I told them you had received threats from possible gang members.” She headed to the kitchen. “Nothing that won’t be common knowledge soon enough.”
“Especially after you opened your mouth. Didn’t you see Matt trying to get you to be quiet?” I perched on the edge of a kitchen chair and stared at her.
“I thought he was waving away a bee.” She started making coffee.
“You’ve increased the danger to every one of us.” My shoulders slumped. I really hadn’t wanted to get involved this time, yet trouble knocked on my door anyway. The last two crimes I’d been involved in were nowhere near the magnitude of this one. I had
literally stumbled over the first body, and the second time a psycho email stalker had dogged my every step. Why do these things keep happening to me?
Matt burst through the back door and stopped to glare at Mom. “Didn’t you see me?”
“She thought you were swatting at bees.”
“What?” He frowned.
“Never mind. Tell me the damage.” I rested my elbows on the table.
“She laid it out, in simple language, everything that has been happening to you and Norma. If the gang didn’t think you were involved in their business before, they will now.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “The department will try to keep the papers from printing anything, but that hasn’t worked very well in the past. What were you thinking, Ann?”
“I guess I got caught up in the moment. Call it my fifteen minutes of fame.” She handed us mugs of coffee. She set down and sighed. “I messed up. I’m sorry. I only meant to say one little thing and then put in a plug for my business. I got carried away.”
Matt scratched his eyebrow. “I’ll have to find around the clock protection for all of you. The department is already stretched thin. You’ve put me in a tough spot, Ann, and possibly jeopardized the investigation.”
“Mom, I think it’s time you and the others head to the family cabin.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay. If I go, I take the problem with me.” My hands trembled around the mug. I wished I’d had more time to befriend Jamal. It could make a big difference in what happens to me.
She shook her head. “No, I made the mess, I’ll stay here to help clean it up.”
The reporters started shouting again and we raced to the window. Angela and Cherokee sat cornered in her van, eyes wide, terror on their faces as they watched a tow truck take away what remained of my car.
“I’d better go rescue your sister.” Matt squared his shoulders and left through the back door.
Five minutes later, Dakota included, came back in, drawing reporters to the back of the house. Mom closed the curtains over the windows.
“What happened?” Angela sagged into a chair.
I explained, the best I could, not leaving out Mom’s rambling story to the press. Once I’d finished, I sat back down and tried to get my hands to still around my mug.
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 35
