Chapter 4
Tiny waited for me outside the building. “Took you a while to get here,” he said as I pulled up. “I’m freezing my a—Oh, where’s Jackie?” He had noticed Tammy getting out of the car.
“Jackie has a date,” I replied.
“Really? With whom?” Tiny leaned on his elbows using his bike to support himself.
“That Randall Hopkins. Some guy from the city council.”
“Oh. She should dump him,” said Tiny.
“Why?”
“I don’t like him. Anyway, that’s enough of this chit-chat. Shall we?” He held the entrance open for us.
Tammy stared at Tiny with wide eyes as we walked through the doorway and to the much warmer indoors.
“What floor?” asked Tiny.
“Fourth,” I replied. We hiked up the stairs to the top floor. Helen Campbell’s apartment was the first one on the left. Tammy tried the knob. Of course it didn’t budge.
“Do you have the key?” she asked.
“Who needs keys?” said Tiny stepping forward. He shoved a slim piece of metal in the lock, jimmied it a bit, and the door popped open. “Entre vu.”
I pushed Tammy inside before anyone caught us.
“You mean we’re breaking in?”
“Yes,” I hissed, “This is the only way we can look around.”
“But isn’t it illegal?”
“Not if you don’t get caught,” chuckled Tiny. “Mel here’s a natural at this stuff. Taught her everything I know. Well, most things.”
“Alright, everyone spread out,” I said, “I’m not sure what I’m looking for exactly, but anything unusual or that might tell us why Helen was murdered.”
Tiny headed for the back room with Tammy.
I examined the living room. A small kitchenette with a few dirty dishes in the sink opened off one side of the living room. The one bedroom sized place seemed to have provided enough comforts for Helen and was probably all she could afford. A laundry basket full of clothes rested on the floor by the couch. She must have recently gotten back from the Laundromat and meant to fold those.
I noticed a desk in the far corner and headed for it. If she was an organized accountant, then many of her books should be near there. Switching on the lamp, I found her accounting books instantly. One in particular had a giant photograph of a small bungalow on it. I opened it. Numbers filled the page. On the top of the page rested a giant number with subtractions beneath it. Each resulting figure was circled in red. I quickly realized that this was her dream book; she was saving up for a house. I closed it and put it aside, angered that someone murdered a woman who had managed to turn her life around and worked so hard to make something of it.
Another, more plainly bound, book caught my attention. I flipped it open to pages full of numbers. These figures seemed to be erratic and random in nature. It made no sense to me. I peered more closely at the tiny numbers and shorthand. Shaking my head, I snapped it shut.
I wandered to the bathroom. It had the typical toiletries that every bathroom has. Neat and tidy.
A small noise in the bedroom caught my attention. I poked my head in. “Anything?”
“No,” said Tiny. “Not much in here.”
I scanned the room. The sparsely furnished room looked uninteresting; just a bed, small table with a lamp, and a dresser. The closet only held a few outfits; one for each day of the week. Helen lived modestly. So why was she killed?
I fiddled with the book in my hands taking another look at it. Its brown leather cover was different from the others on the shelf above the desk. The more I flipped through the pages the more I had the feeling that this book belonged elsewhere.
“What you got there, Mel?” asked Tammy noting the book in my hands.
“An accounting book. But I can’t make heads or tails with the stuff in here.”
Tiny took it from me. He frowned as he rifled through it. “Sombrero might be able to decipher this.”
“But we can’t just take it,” I said. “I can’t get caught with something from the dead woman’s apartment.”
“Leave that to me,” said Tiny.
A slamming door in the corridor stopped us cold. We listened as the footsteps faded.
“I think we’ve been here long enough.” I waved everyone to the door. Taking a quick peep through the peephole, I opened the door and ushered them through. Carefully, I closed it without making any noise.
We rushed down the stairs to the exit. I cringed as the cold air from outside slammed into us. I couldn’t wait for spring.
“Well, I’ll get back to you soon about this,” said Tiny as he straddled his motorcycle. The engine roared when he started it.
I told Tammy to get in the car and we headed out. Tired from my early start on the day, I dropped her off back in town and headed home.
Chapter 5
“Jackie, I’m back.” I plopped my keys on the table by the door.
No answer.
“Jackie?”
I searched the apartment for Jackie. No sign of her anywhere, but her car was in the parking lot. Where was she? A piece of paper flew off the front table as I walked by. Picking it up, I instantly realized that it was a note from her. I’d recognize that neat handwriting anywhere.
Randall called early. Went out with him. Be back late.
Great. He picked her up hours before the proposed date. I don’t know what she saw in him. He seemed too eager to go out with her. Though, that might be what she thought of Greg at first when I started dating him.
That cold chill trickled down my back again as I began to sweat profusely. My face and hands clammed up turning slippery from the moisture that formed there. All happiness and good feeling disappeared. What was happening? My breathing quickened as an unknown panic rose within my throat desperately trying to push out a scream.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The room returned to normal as my panic attack ended. Maybe I needed a doctor.
I opened the door. A young man stood there with a workman’s belt around his waist and a chest of tools in his left hand. “Afternoon, ma’am,” he said with an exuberant smile.
“Yes?” The confusion came through in my voice.
“Is everything okay?” Concern crossed his face. He must have noticed the uneasiness in my voice.
I glanced around trying to figure out what happened, but none of it made sense. “Um, yeah. Sure. May I help you?”
“I’m here to fix the shower.”
“Where’s Carl?” My mind just didn’t want to comprehend anything.
“Carl got fired. Stayed out drinking one too many times and then decided not to show up for work,” replied the handyman, “Anyway, my name is Chris Henderson. I live around here and agreed to help out with maintenance until a permanent replacement could be found. The landlord said to call him if you wanted to verify anything.”
“Oh, no that’s okay.” I opened the door wider to let him in.
The shower in the first bathroom decided to go on the fritz. Most times water just trickled out, barely enough to clean with. Jackie and I had called about it over a week ago. About time somebody stopped by to fix it.
“It’s the main one in the hallway there,” I said.
Chris stepped inside heading straight for the bathroom. His tools clonked and rattled with each step he took.
I followed him. “The water just sort of trickles out when it’s on.”
Chris turned on the water and a tiny stream flowed, but not very well. “I see what you mean. Most likely there is a clog somewhere in the pipe here. I should have it fixed before the end of the day.”
“That would be nice.”
“If you don’t mind me asking—”
“Mel.”
“Mel. You seemed a bit rattled when you answered the door. Is everything alright? I didn’t startle you with my knocking did I?”
On the contrary he couldn’t have come at a better moment. “No. No. Everything’s fine I guess.”
“Well, lately I’ve been having these panic attacks. It’s happened twice so far today.”
“Panic attack? Have you ever been prone to such things before?”
“No. This is a first for me.”
“Strange. Well, if you don’t mind my personal diagnosis, I don’t think it’s a panic attack. Now I know that isn’t a medical diagnosis, but you don’t strike me as someone who gives in to fear.” He pulled out his pipe snake. A huge wad of gunk clung to it. “I think I found the problem with your pipe.” He rammed the snake down the pipe again; it rattled with each movement he made.
“So when did it first happen?” asked Chris.
“This morning, I was at—” I cut myself off. I shouldn’t tell him that I had been at a crime scene investigating the death of a woman I had witnessed get murdered.
“At where?”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you,” I said.
“You don’t have to.”
“No. I mean, it could impede a police investigation,” I added quickly.
“No worries. I can probably guess where you were then.” He pulled the pipe snake out and cleaned more gunk from it. “Anyway,” continued Chris, “Next time it happens, just say out loud that you will not be afraid. Don’t allow it to control you.”
I studied Chris a moment. He seemed to be more than just a handyman. There was something about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He snapped his tool box shut.
“Well,” said Chris, “That should take care of the pipes.” He turned on the water. It flowed smoothly just the way it should. “Well, you take care of yourself, Mel. I’ll see myself out.”
“Mel? Mel?” Greg walked into the hallway just as Chris headed for the door.
“Greg,” I said, surprised, “I thought you were working.”
“I managed to get off for a few hours. I’ll have to go back later. I thought we could go out for an early supper or something.” He looked at Chris. “Who’s this?”
“Chris,” I said, “He was here to fix the shower.”
A fleeting look of jealousy crossed Greg’s face. Men. They are so frustrating sometimes.
Chris pushed his way past Greg saying a polite hello. “Let me know if you have any more problems,” he said. He looked at Greg for a moment. “You know, I’m not competition.” Chris left whistling to himself as he walked down the hall.
“Chris, huh?”
“Oh stop it,” I told Greg. “He was here to fix the shower and we talked. Now if you don’t stop being jealous, I’ll throw you out and you can go to dinner by yourself.”
“I’m not jealous,” muttered Greg.
“Sure you aren’t,” I said. “Now come on. Let’s go eat.” I kissed him just to let him know that I was still his girl.
We found a small place on the edge of town. It was basically a truck stop, but according to Greg it had the best pancakes. I didn’t care. I was just glad that he had time for me for once.
“So,” he said after we ordered, “Christmas is only a few days away.”
“Yeah?”
“Any thoughts on what you want?”
I grinned. “I really don’t want anything this year.”
“Come on, you have to want something.”
Well, I’d love to be rid of the creepy thing that kept causing me to have panic attacks. “I already have what I want and there isn’t anything I really need. I’m fine, Greg. I just want a small Christmas celebration this year.”
“Alright. Be a tough customer.” He gave me his pouty face.
“Oh, don’t pretend that you’re upset. You know you’re glad that I don’t want anything expensive.”
“So, what have you and Jackie been up to?”
I explained to him about me seeing a woman get killed, but I didn’t see the murderer. He frowned when I explained about us going to the crime scene that morning with Tiny.
“You can’t help yourself can you?” he asked.
“I don’t ask for trouble,” I said.
“Go on,” encouraged Greg.
Greg roared with laughter when I told him about Tammy’s attempt to give Jack a lap dance.
“I bet he loved that,” chuckled Greg. “Oh, boy, I wish I could have been there. The look on his face must have been priceless.”
I laughed a bit as well in between bites of food.
“So what else happened?”
“Well, we went to Helen’s apartment with Tiny to look around. Don’t worry. No one saw us. After that I came home to find that Jackie went on her date early.”
“Jackie met someone?”
“This morning.” I explained about how we ran into Randall Hopkins and his immediate interest in Jackie. I even included the part about her drooling all over him.
“So, Jackie has it bad.”
“Yeah. She practically threw herself in front of him when he asked her out. I haven’t seen her this way in a while.”
“Well,” Greg raised his glass, “To Jackie. Hopefully it works out for her.” Greg noticed my frown. “You really don’t like him.”
“There’s just something about him.”
“Well, either she realizes he’s a jerk and dumps him, or he could be a nice guy.”
“I know.” I rested my chin in my hands. Maybe I was being too harsh on Randall Hopkins.
Greg glanced at his watch. “Oh, I got to go.” He held my coat out for me as I stood up. “I’ll drop you off at home.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go,” I whined.
“Don’t worry. This won’t last for much longer. Phil said he felt much better today. Hopefully he’ll be back by the end of the week.”
“I hope so,” I said, “I miss you.”
Chapter 6
I plopped my keys on the table as I walked through the door into the darkened apartment. Jackie hadn’t returned yet. I didn’t really expect her to be there. Changing into my pajamas, I curled up on the couch with a chocolate bar and a glass of milk. Maybe there would be something interesting on TV.
As usual you pay for cable and there is nothing interesting or new on. I ended up placing the channel on reruns of Psych. I always found the show entertaining, especially since the two main characters spend all their time bickering like an old married couple.
I settled in for a full hour of entertainment. Soon, my eyelids grew heavy as I started to nod off. I don’t even remember falling asleep.
Panic rose up inside me as I ran through a dark forest crashing through the thicket as it caught on my pants. Tearing myself free I took off. My ankle twisted and I fell face first on the ground.
Something dark and brooding pursued me. Faceless, it glided over the frozen ground heading straight for me. The same fear that had plagued me twice before paralyzed my limbs. Powerless, I lay in the snow my mind a flood of thoughts and reactions. A scream echoed around growing louder and louder until—
I woke up realizing that the scream had come from me. Glancing around the dim apartment, I knew I was alone. A nightmare. I usually didn’t have nightmares. I flicked off the television, picked up my empty glass of milk and half eaten chocolate bar. Depositing it all in the kitchen I headed for bed. No more chocolate at this time of night.
The clock on the wall caught my attention. Three in the morning and no Jackie. Where was she? The play didn’t go that long.
I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. Just as it started ringing, a key clicked in the lock. Flipping my phone closed, I waited as Jackie silently let herself in.
“Thanks for such a wonderful evening,” whispered Jackie.
“We could do it again. Say tomorrow?” said Randall.
Jackie giggled. She gets that way when she is into a guy. “Tomorrow’s good.”
Silence ensued and I knew they kissed. Finally, Jackie stepped inside and closed the door. She jumped when she saw me.
“Mel? I thought you’d be asleep.”
I knew she blushed in the darkness. “I was, but had to get up for something. Did you have a nice time?”
“It was wonderful.” She twirled on the balls of her feet doing a slight ballet maneuver.
Oh no. She was in love. I wondered what Randall Hopkins had done to make her fall head over heels for him. In the back of my mind I still had a mistrust of the man. “How was the play?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, I didn’t pay much attention to it.” Jackie dumped her stuff and skipped to her room.
Yep. She was in love. Oh, well. I went to bed.
A restful night’s sleep did not come to me at all. I tossed, turned, and woke up each hour. No sooner had I gotten to sleep, I would jerk awake. When seven am arrived, I just got up, realizing that I would not be getting any sleep.
I sat at the table with a half full cup of coffee in my hand wishing that I had gotten more rest. Jackie was still in bed. I didn’t expect her to get up anytime soon and in a few hours I had to be at work.
My phone rang. “Yeah?”
“Hey, Mel, it’s Tiny. Sombrero went through those books and found something interesting. Anyway, come on down to the shop and he’ll show it to you.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I grabbed my keys and purse and left without bothering to leave a note for Jackie. She’d figure out where I’d gone.
Within twenty minutes I arrived at the shop, as Tiny and the boys called it. It was a small garage where people brought their cars to be fixed and paid cash. No checks. No credit cards. These boys fixed anything from vehicles, to bikes, to lawn mowers. If it ran on gas, they could repair it. I had to hand it to them. They had good business sense and managed to make a decent enough living.
I parked in the back so that my car didn’t get mistaken for a customer’s.
“Mel!” Tiny greeted me as I walked inside all bundled up in my coat. It had gotten colder with more snow flurries. “You okay?”
Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 05 - Oh Holy Ghost Page 4
