by Lori Woods
“I’m sorry about that,” Clary said sheepishly, shrinking back slightly in her seat, “but good news, I don’t think Salome even knew about that bag. Look what Marie found in Erica’s room.” She showed him the picture.
“That’s almost exactly what was in Salome’s car,” Sanchez said, frowning at the picture. “Could Erica have planted it?”
“It’s unlikely,” Clary admitted. “Why would she make two separate bags for herself? We got a tip about this, and we went to go check. I don’t think either of them were involved at all.”
“Let me guess,” Sanchez said tiredly, “TSK?”
“That’s why they pay you the big money,” Clary said with a grin. “I think TSK is more involved with this one than they’d like to admit. I think we’re getting too close for comfort on this one. Every time we start on one road, they’re there to redirect us.”
“Which road is that?”
“I’m not sure,” Clary admitted, “but I have a theory.”
* * *
“What does this button do?” Marie asked, pointing at a strange-looking button on a console.
“That’s a gaming console. It does whatever the game says it does.”
“What’s this?”
“Marie,” Logan said patiently, looking up from his computer, “what can I help you with?”
“I wanted to help with the investigation,” she said innocently, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Is Erica back at the café?” he asked bluntly, lifting up his reading glasses as he looked at her. She smiled sweetly and turned back to his electronics display. He smiled and shook his head at her.
“What are we going to do about Josh?” she asked.
“I think we need to talk to another local,” he suggested, “or someone who has ties to the police.”
“I think Ben is busy.”
“I never said anything about Ben.”
“You hinted at it.”
“Why don’t you just call him and see?”
“I don’t want to,” she turned her back on him and fiddled with the game console.
“Don’t play with that,” he said sternly, “and why not?”
Marie mumbled something and turned even further away from him. But she let go of the gaming console. He ignored her and continued typing away on his computer while she shuffled her feet awkwardly.
“He hasn’t asked me out,” she blurted out.
“Really?” He still didn’t look up from his computer.
“Yes, what’s up with that? He seems as if he likes me. Why hasn’t he done anything about it yet?”
“Marie, you’re terrifying. Have you ever thought about asking him out on a date?”
“You think I’m terrifying?” Marie asked, turning to him with a happy smile.
“Yes, I can guarantee that. He’s also shy. Just ask him and see what happens. At least you’ll have an answer.”
“Are you afraid of Clary?”
“Why would I be?” Logan looked up in surprise.
“You haven’t asked her out yet,” Marie said with a mischievous grin.
“I’m working on that,” he said, winking at her. “Now call Ben. We need some information.”
To no one’s surprise, Ben was there within the next ten minutes. He pulled up in a squad car and jumped out. Marie smiled at him, and he was so surprised that he froze before tentatively returning her smile.
“What can I help you with?” he asked sweetly.
Ben was the type of person who didn’t need to act sweet. Everything about him was sweet, which was why people felt so comfortable with approaching him with private matters.
He also wasn’t her usual type, Marie thought. Which was why she wasn’t sure about how to act around him. Logan smiled to himself as he typed away on his computer. He knew he wouldn’t be needed for this conversation.
“We heard something interesting about Josh,” Marie explained, “and we were wondering if you knew anything about him.”
“Well, we went to school together. He was three years younger than me, but Karen was in the same classes. They were very close to each other, I don’t think they had the greatest childhood. Their dad was on the force, but he was more of a bully than anything else. Josh enlisted when he was eighteen, but he was back within a few months. I don’t think he even made it through basic training, but I’m not judging him or anything.”
“Karen said he’d been to combat and that he came back with mental issues,” Marie said thoughtfully. “Could she have been lying?”
“I don’t know,” Ben shrugged, turning slightly red. He hated gossip and never wanted to say anything bad about anyone, “but I don’t think anyone would’ve sent him to combat, he wasn’t there long enough.”
“I think we need to talk to him,” Marie decided, “without Karen around.”
“Why?”
“We heard he was hanging around Spooky last night.”
“Where did you heard that?” he asked in surprise. “No one saw Spooky last night. We asked everyone who was out last night, and no one saw him.”
“We spoke to Erica’s friend Tammy-Lynn,” Marie said slowly. “She says that he and Spooky wouldn’t leave them alone and that Karen was embarrassed by his behavior.”
“It’s possible that we didn’t talk to everyone last night,” Ben suggested doubtfully. “Either way, it’s worth looking into. Come on, I know where he works.”
They walked out of the shop, leaving Logan smiling to himself while he worked on his computer. A notification pinged onto his screen and he frowned at the screen before looking up in alarm.
Ben pushed the door open and gestured for Marie to walk in first. She smiled at him, and stepped into the cool, air-conditioned butcher’s shop. Kurt looked up at them and scowled before looking back at his work.
“Good afternoon,” Ben said politely. “We’d just like to borrow Josh for a moment, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, the slacker kid probably isn’t working anyway. He’s out back.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, and they exchanged hesitant looks. Ben took a deep breath and motioned for Marie to follow him.
They made their way through the work area, trying to ignore the clumps of meat lying on the counters and hanging from the ceiling. Thankfully, Kurt kept his workspace clean, so they didn’t see anything too disturbing. When they made it out the back door, they saw Josh smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. When he saw them, he immediately dropped it to the ground and stamped it out.
“Don’t run,” Marie warned him. “I’m not as nice as Clary.”
“What do you want?” he rasped, his throat slightly raw from the smoke.
“I’m going to ignore that smell,” Ben said pointedly, “and you’re going to answer a few questions.”
“I didn’t do anything illegal,” he said sullenly, taking his phone out and typing a quick message. “Besides, don’t I have the right to a lawyer or something?”
“Only if you’re guilty,” Ben pointed out. “Are you guilty of something, Josh?”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Karen demanded, storming up to them. “I told you to leave him alone!”
Chapter 9
“Wait, are we talking about the same Karen?” Clary asked incredulously. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
“You should’ve been there,” Marie said looking at Ben with wide eyes. “How did she know where we were?”
“I think Josh must’ve messaged her when he saw us,” Ben said, shrugging, “but I still don’t know how she got there so fast. Or maybe she was already on her way to come see him.”
“She wasn’t,” Logan said. “Erica came to my store when Karen left. She said that Karen just took off running.”
“It was so bad,” Marie said, still looking shocked. “I’ve never seen anyone so angry. She wouldn’t stop screaming at us. Eventually Kurt had to come outside and ask her to stop.”
“You said they were close,” Clary told Ben thoughtfully. “Maybe Karen
didn’t like the effect Spooky was having on Josh, so she decided to get rid of him.”
“That’s a leap,” Ben said with a frown.
“Think about it, we know where Erica was last night, but we don’t know where Karen was. She had the keys to the salon, and she knew that Erica wouldn’t respond to the fire alarm.”
“That doesn’t explain why Spooky was outside the building instead of inside. If she wanted to get rid of the body, why not put Spooky inside the salon? It would’ve taken much longer to identify his body if he’d been inside the salon.”
“This is making me nauseous,” Marie complained. “Stop talking about him like that.”
“I think we need to put this theory to the test,” Clary decided. “Let’s take Josh in for questioning and see what Karen does. We’ll tell her that he’s under suspicion and then keep an eye on her.”
“Why couldn’t Josh have done it? What if he’s the murderer?” Ben countered.
“The man was smoking weed at his job. Do you really think he masterminded the whole thing? I’ve met the guy, and I don’t think he could’ve murdered a friend, pulled the body to his sister’s boss’ salon and then set the place on fire.”
“Yeah, I was reaching,” Ben admitted. “I’ll talk to Sanchez, and see what he says.”
“So, we’ll bring Josh in for questioning and keep an eye on Marie.”
“I can’t right now,” Logan admitted. “I need to wait for something important, but I’ll be with you as soon as I’m done here.”
“What’s so important?” Marie asked in annoyance. “This is usually your favorite part.”
“Trust me,” Logan said sagely, “it’ll be worth it.”
“I’ll get Sanchez to detain Josh. Where’s Karen now?” Ben said quickly, sending a quick message to his boss.
“She’s at the café,” Marie said slowly. “I can go back and watch over her.”
“Great,” Clary said with a smile. “Ben, can you come with me to her house? We could find something there while she’s distracted by the news.”
“I’m a cop,” Ben pointed out. “I could get into massive trouble if I break into someone’s house. Besides, this whole thing needs to be believable. I can join Sanchez, why don’t you join Marie?”
“I think this is the perfect opportunity,” Clary protested. “She might not say anything, but she might’ve left something at her house.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Logan protested.
“I’m going,” Clary said resolutely, “and you can’t stop me.”
An hour later, Sanchez’s car pulled up to the butchery. Everyone on the street came closer to get a better view while the customers in the store all waited in expectation to see what would happen. A few gasps arose as Ben and Sanchez escorted a frightened Josh to the car. Only a few minutes later, Karen got the message. Marie watched her carefully, but the assistant just went pale. She looked up at Erica before putting her phone away. Then she quietly got up and went to the bathroom.
“Could you please get off your phone for just one second?” Clary asked in annoyance, rummaging through Karen’s belongings. Nothing. The house was dingy, but immaculately clean. It became apparent that Josh lived with his sister as his room was disgustingly dirty, but everything else was spotless.
Clary threw her hands up in frustration when Logan just shook his head at her. So far, they hadn’t found anything. She sighed loudly and sat on the only couch in the living room. The headrest was lumpy, and the springs dug into her back, but she just closed her eyes to think.
“I don’t think we’re going to find anything here,” Logan said helpfully. When she leaned forward to answer him, something itched at the back of her mind, and she looked up again, her eyes catching something.
“Look,” she pointed at the ceiling, “one of the slats is loose.”
“Have you seen this place? That’s hardly surprising.”
“It’s worth looking at,” Clary told him. She got onto the couch and tried to reach, but she was too short. Logan chuckled at her before stepping in front of her and reaching up. She suddenly became aware of their proximity and tried not to blush.
As his hands lifted the slat, a key fell to the floor and he bent down to pick it up.
“A clue,” she said triumphantly.
“And,” he said, pulling out his phone from his back pocket, “a message from TSK.”
“Is it Salome or Erica this time?”
“Salome,” Logan said with a frown.
“That means we’re on the right track,” Clary said with a massive grin. “Come on, we don’t have much time.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the Route 71 Motel,” Clary said, holding up the key with a flourish. “So nice of them to put their name on the key for us.”
“Room 6, here we come,” Logan said triumphantly.
* * *
“I told you, I never spent time with Spooky,” Josh said desperately. “He was just some guy who was at the same bar sometimes.” He looked at the door with a panicked expression and picked at his nails.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Ben asked calmly.
“No.”
“Let’s go back to your service history, son,” Sanchez said. “Someone like you could easily get their hands on a gun. You know, being a veteran and all. Tell us, what was it like over there?”
“I don’t have a gun,” Josh said sullenly.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened?” Ben suggested. “We could help you if you told us the truth.”
“I already did,” Josh protested loudly, leaning back and scratching his arm.
“The truth about Spooky or your military service.”
Josh hesitated, chewing on his inner cheek as he thought. He looked at the door again with a frightened expression before looking back at the policemen. He scratched his head again before sighing.
“Both.”
“See, we’ve got you lying on both counts.”
“Several people saw you and Spooky hanging out last night,” Ben started.
“And I called my friend at the recruitment services and he says that no one named Josh Armstrong was ever enlisted in the army,” Sanchez finished.
* * *
“Will you please stop fidgeting?” Erica snapped, turning on Karen with an annoyed expression.
“Sorry,” Karen snapped, but she didn’t stop playing with her pencil. Marie took a batch of muffins out of the oven and watched them both out of the corner of her eye. Karen was busy playing with her pencil while Erica stared out of the window with a vexed expression. The sky was starting to darken, and people were closing up their stores and making their way home.
Soon, the Story Tree Café was the only business left open.
“Do you have any plans for tonight?” Marie asked cautiously, taking out everything they would need for a barbecue. “Logan’s coming over later and we’re going to have a barbecue. You two can join us if you want.”
“That sounds great,” Erica said in surprise. “Thank you.” Karen smiled weakly and nodded too. Marie smiled back at them before turning back to the oven. She frowned at the ribs in front of her, wondering what to make of Karen’s response.
* * *
“This is the right room,” Clary told him, inserting the key and turning to it.
“This must look so weird to other people,” Logan joked, and Clary rolled her eyes at him. She was about to open the door when a harried-looking employee hurried over with a frightened expression.
“Excuse me, what are you doing?”
“We have a key to this room,” Clary told him with a smile, holding up the key. “Don’t worry about it.” He looked around with a spooked expression before walking up to them with a suspicious expression.
“Is rock music your favorite?”
“What?” Logan asked in confusion.
“Never mind,” he said quickly, backing away and turning back to the office.
“What was that about?
” Clary asked, looking after him with a perplexed expression. Logan shrugged and pulled his phone out as it vibrated. Clary sighed and rolled her eyes before opening the door.
She was met by a pitch-black room and felt along the wall to find the light switch.
“Clary,” Logan said in an awed tone. She turned back to his face lit up eerily by his phone’s light. “You have to see this.”
“In a minute,” she told him as her hand found the light switch and flipped it on. The light spilled all over the room, revealing a truly bizarre sight. She gasped in surprise and turned to get the full scope of what she was seeing.
“Oh no,” Logan said in horror as he stepped into the room. “This is bad. This is very bad.”
“What on earth?” Clary asked, her voice coming out small and frightened.
* * *
Josh tensed up as his phone vibrated once.
“I need to get that,” he told them, his voice strangled with fear.
“Not a chance,” Sanchez shook his head resolutely. “You’re going to tell us what we want to know, and this time you’re going to tell the truth or you’re going to be very sorry.”
Ben shifted uncomfortably as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He grimaced apologetically when Sanchez gave him a threatening look.
“What is this? A disco? Switch that thing off.”
Ben nodded quickly and switched the phone off on the side without checking to see what was happening.
“You don’t understand,” Josh said, scratching his arm intensely. “It’s not what you think. You need to let me go. I told you the truth.”
“No,” Sanchez said sternly, “you didn’t. We’ve already established that you’re a liar. For the last time, son, we’re trying to help you out here. Tell us what really happened last night. We’re on your side.”
Sanchez’s phone started ringing, but he immediately pressed the off button and turned back to Josh.
“Help us understand,” Ben interjected. “Tell us what happened so that we can help you.”
