“Yes, I’m fine.”
She left in a hurry.
Chapter Twenty-One
“So Cooper Merritt totally killed Switzer,” Noreen said.
She made a left onto a side road that led to Missy’s mom’s house. It was the same one Missy had grown up in. She and Noreen had spent many afternoons running around in the backyard as tweens and later, had spent many evenings on the deck in summer, talking about college and boys and The Future as high schoolers.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Missy said. Though something Cooper said was bothering her. She couldn’t remember his exact words, but it was along the lines of: Tyler is trying to pin this murder on me.
That wasn’t how guilty people talked, unless they were really smart and trying to throw others off their trail. And as far as she could tell, Cooper wasn’t that smart. If he had any intelligence, he wouldn’t have made such a scene at Hank’s and he wouldn’t have threatened her in front of all those witnesses.
But maybe that was just it. Cooper wasn’t smart. And when he’d gone to Switzer’s place to confront the man, he’d just flipped his lid. If you were planning to kill somebody, would you plan to strangle them? Missy didn’t think so. The crime was done in a rage, not after hours of careful scheming.
Cooper had a lot of rage. She thought about how quickly he’d gone from interested in her to almost yanking her arm out of its socket. He was out of control. It fit with the murder, which seemed like a crime of passion more than a cold-blooded killing.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Noreen asked.
“Cooper mentioned Switzer’s neighbor. I’m going out there to talk to him.”
“Whoa, Miss.” Noreen rolled to a stop in front of Missy’s mom’s house. “You’re just dropping by? You need a cover story.”
“I’ll come up with something.” She was ever more determined now to solve the murder for a lot of reasons. First, she hadn’t forgotten that the chief thought she was guilty. Second, she wanted everybody in this town to stop whispering about her, her mom, and her dad.
And third, a small part of wanted to stick it to Tyler.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d looked at her outside the bar. He clearly wasn’t excited about her outfit…but who was he to judge? She’d turned more heads tonight than she had in years. And more importantly, why did she care what he thought anyway?
“Alright, want some company?” Noreen asked.
Missy was about to say no but knew it was for all the wrong reasons. It was okay if she asked for help every now and then. Noreen was her friend.
“Thanks, Nor. How about I pick you up at nine?”
Noreen smiled. “Nine-thirty.”
Missy laughed. Of course Noreen, who was notoriously late, would haggle for more time in the morning.
“Nine-fifteen. I have to be at Books and Crannies by ten.”
“You vex me.”
“It’s only fifteen minutes.” Missy gave her a look. “Besides, if you go to bed now, you’ll get at least ten hours sleep.”
“I just wanted to use the word vex. Nobody says that anymore.”
Missy laughed. “So nine-fifteen, then?”
“Sounds good.” Noreen winked at her. “Partner.”
They laughed again and hugged before Missy got out of Noreen’s car and walked up her mother’s driveway.
She loved this old. She’d lived most of her life in it.
It was only a few years ago that her uncle decided to up and move to Florida, offering his house to Missy for significantly less than he could have gotten on the open market. Having moved back home after college, Missy had slowly saved up enough money to make a down payment and secure a mortgage.
Mom’s house was dark except for one window on the first floor. She still had a key and used it to unlock the front door. Stepping inside, she could tell Mom had gone to bed. Cody was stretched out on the hardwood in the foyer. The dog picked her head up a few inches, blinked a few times, then put her head back down.
“Yeah. I’m tired too.”
It wasn’t that late, but once Missy stepped into her mother’s house the exhaustion hit. The last few days had been crazy and she hadn’t slept well. Her old bed was just up the stairs and calling to her. So Missy locked the front door and patted her thigh for Cody to follow. The dog thumped her tail and hopped up, somehow understanding they weren’t driving home tonight but staying here.
Mom hadn’t changed much about her room. Turning on the light, she could still see the rectangular areas on the wall that were lighter in tone than the rest, the only remaining evidence of her posters: boy bands and movies, basically.
Missy peeled off the t-shirt and slinked her way out of the low-rider jeans. Without even meaning to, she caught herself in the mirror. She obviously didn’t look different tonight than she had this morning, but when she saw her hips and big thighs in the mirror she didn’t cringe. Again she hadn’t gotten to the gym, but maybe she could tomorrow.
She turned out the light and got under the cool sheets. Cody spun three times and finally settled by the foot of the bed.
The next morning Missy woke without an alarm to the sounds and smells of Mom cooking. Cody had beaten her downstairs and was sitting on her haunches two feet from Mom as she worked over the stove.
“Blueberry pancakes and bacon.” Mom smiled. “Your favorite.”
Missy sat where she always sat, in front of the window. Cody was so focused on the food being cooked, she didn’t even notice Missy.
“How was your night?” Mom asked.
“Interesting.” Missy filled her in.
Mom finished at the stove and pushed the pancakes and bacon onto a plate. As she made her way to the table, Cody was glued to her side. The dog was clearly hoping Mom would drop the food.
Mom sat. “You and Tyler keep running into each other.”
Missy said nothing.
“I could tell he was happy to see you the other day.”
“Mom, we keep running into each other because there’s a murder.”
“That’s not the only reason.”
Missy gave her a look. “Not to mention the fact I’m the prime suspect, now that you’re cleared.”
“I wouldn’t say prime suspect.”
“That’s basically what Tyler said. The chief thinks I did it.”
“Oh.”
“And speaking of you being cleared, it’s time you told me what’s going on. I hate how you keep things from me, Mom. I’m not ten years old anymore.”
Mom put a pancake and two strips of bacon on her plate. “Missy, I’d tell you if I could. But it’s not just my secret to keep.”
“Are you having an affair?”
Mom didn’t answer. “Don’t worry about me. Now tell me about Tyler.”
“What more is there to say? If I’m not a suspect, I’m a person of interest in a murder that he is investigating.”
Mom wagged her finger. “But you’re not a detective, Miss.”
“But I can help, can’t I?” Missy was about to dig in, but thought better of it. She couldn’t just shovel a bunch of pancakes and bacon down her gullet and expect to lose weight.
“Why do you want to help so much?” Mom asked. “You and Albert weren’t that close.”
“I liked him.” She gave Mom a look. “And because people think I killed him.”
“If they really thought that, you’d be arrested by now, I think.” Mom put her fork down. “So why are you putting yourself in danger?”
“Mom, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“That’s no answer.’
Missy knew where Mom was going with this. Exactly where. Mom was suggesting that Missy was inserting herself into the police investigation as a way to see Tyler. But that wasn’t why. She was doing this because…for a lot of reasons.
Mom nodded, as if Missy had actually answered her. “Just be careful, sweety. I can’t…lose you too.”
Missy hadn’t seen her mother cr
y in a long time and was shocked to find her teary-eyed.
“Mom.”
She put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. It was so bony, the skin so loose. It was like she was fading away to nothing.
“Mom, nothing is going to happen to me, okay?”
“Promise.”
“I swear.”
***
Missy arrived a few minutes early to pick up Noreen, who was of course late. She wasn’t out the door until nine-twenty-five.
Noreen jumped into the passenger seat and gave Cody a back rub. The dog’s legs shook in pure joy.
“You still have all your stuff in the flatbed,” Noreen remarked.
Truth be told, Missy had forgotten about the things she’d picked up on Saturday while garage sale-hopping. Switzer’s cabinet was still strapped to the passenger side of the bed with a tarp covering it. Maybe she’d get some time to start working on it tonight. The Tri-County Flea Market was Saturday, which gave her exactly three nights to work on it. No, actually two. They had their book club tomorrow night. Normally she could skip a meeting and be okay, but this month she had picked the book and was slotted to lead the discussion…and she’d only read half of it so far.
“Hello, Earth to Miss.” Noreen waved a hand in her face even though she was driving. “You there?”
“Sorry, guess I have a lot on my mind.”
Noreen smiled. “Like Tyler Brock.”
“No. Try finding a murderer.”
“Uh-huh.” Noreen didn’t believe her.
“Don’t uh-huh me.”
“Too late, I already did.”
They mock-fought the rest of the way to Del Reimer’s house. To get there they had to pass Albert Switzer’s. Missy had half been expecting all his stuff from the garage sale to still be out, but the driveway was clear and yellow police tape stretched across his front door.
Noreen shivered. “I literally just got a chill because we passed that house. Creepy.”
“Yeah.” It had looked just like any other house Saturday morning, until she found Switzer inside. Now she had to admit, the place did look creepy though she couldn’t say why. “You’re right.”
Missy pulled into Del Reimer’s driveway. It had been repaved recently, maybe a few months ago. The house had new siding, and the windows looked new also. Del was making a lot of improvements and obviously took pride in his home.
Del’s boy, Sonny, had been a year ahead of Missy in high school. They hadn’t run in the same circles, but they had actually kissed once behind the curtains on the stage in the auditorium on a dare. All these years later, she could still remember the boy’s bad breath. He must have eaten something covered in garlic before they’d smooched. She hadn’t seen Sonny in a long time. He’d moved away after college.
Del was a few years older and retired. His wife had died rather suddenly maybe ten years ago from a heart attack. By the time Missy put the old truck in park, the front door opened and Del stepped onto his porch. He’d grown a beard since she last saw him. It was mostly white, the same color as his hair. He scratched absently at the beard while his eyes slowly took them in.
“I take back what I said about Cooper.” Noreen squirmed in the passenger seat. “This guy killed Switzer.”
Del hooked his thumbs under his overalls and stepped off the porch. It was a cold, grey day, much colder than yesterday. He came right at their truck.
Missy took a deep breath and got out. Cody followed right on her heels.
“Hi, Missy,” Del said.
“Hey, Del.” The last time she’d spoken to him, she’d called him Mister Reimer. Calling him Del felt strange. “Long time, no see, right?”
“Maybe for you, but not for me.” He stopped about ten feet shy of them on one of the pavers leading to the porch.
Missy waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you recently.” He turned one corner of his mouth up. “Guess you didn’t see me.”
Missy just about fell on the ground. Had he just confessed to the murder? Maybe Del was hiding in Switzer’s house when she’d gone inside. She felt Noreen right beside her and was grateful she and Cody were there with her. Her whole body was tensed.
“I guess I didn’t.”
Del hmphed. “There were a lot of people at the bookstore, though only a few men. I would have thought a handsome fellar like yours truly would have stood out.”
Missy relaxed her shoulders. He was referring to the bookstore. But was he only referring to the bookstore?
She didn’t really know him. He might have been playing games with her. The more she thought about it, Del really had the best opportunity out of anybody to kill Switzer. He lived right here and could have kept his eyes on the house all day long.
Missy remembered to smile and hoped it didn’t look fake. “Sorry, I didn’t see you. I was too busy fielding Ellen’s questions and dealing with Oliver McCleary.”
“You ain’t fat,” Del said.
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, excuse her?” Noreen chimed in.
Del ignored Noreen completely, leveling his eyes on Missy.
“I said, you ain’t fat. You’re what a woman should be, not what these drug addict supermodels look like these days. Hell, you’re probably Marilyn Monroe’s size.”
Missy sincerely doubted it, but wasn’t about to argue.
Del wouldn’t drop the subject even though it obviously made her uncomfortable. “Don’t let a punk like McCleary make you feel bad about yourself. You’re a sexy woman, and if I was twenty years younger…” A jolt seemed to go through his body. “…ah, what the hell? How about you and I go out?”
He didn’t quite lick his chops, but he almost did. The creep factor was super high on this guy. Not only was he much older…she had gone to school with his boy.
“Uh, thanks but no thanks.” Missy looked at Noreen, who appeared stupefied. So much for good cop, bad cop.
“Suit yourself.” Del shrugged. “Whachoo doing here?”
“Were you home Saturday morning?”
The smirk vanished and his voice dropped an octave. “I asked what you were doing here.”
Missy felt Cody tense. The dog was picking up on Del’s weird vibe also.
“I was inside Mr. Switzer’s house for probably ten minutes Saturday morning after I found him. Later, I realized some things were missing from my truck. The only time I didn’t have my eyes on it was when I was inside. I figured somebody came by to check out his garage sale, saw something they liked, and swiped it out of my truck.”
It was all a lie, and she hoped he didn’t probe for details.
Del shrugged. “Dangerous town, all of a sudden. Al gets himself strangled and not long after somebody steals from your truck. Wonder if it was the same guy?”
She was convinced he was toying with her. But was that because he was just a weirdo, or was that because he was the killer?
“Did you see anybody, either on foot or driving by?” Missy asked.
“Nope.”
“So you were home while all this was happening, I take it?”
“Yep.”
Noreen finally found her voice. “All anybody keeps talking about is your argument with Albert.”
Del smiled fully for the first time. “Ha. Which one?”
Missy and Noreen looked at each other. If this guy was guilty, he was doing little to make it look like he wasn’t. He’d just admitted to having frequent arguments with Switzer.
“The one having to do with your property.”
“Ha. Which one?”
This guy was basically admitting to having a grudge against his now-deceased neighbor. Missy didn’t know where to go next, other than just coming right out with it.
“The most recent argument,” Missy said. “That’s what everybody’s talking about.”
The smile turned into something dangerous. “Switzer was squatting on my land.”
“He was?”
Del nodded. “En
croaching along the border with that fence he put up.”
Missy and Noreen both turned. The fence was a new addition. Del had taken paint to it on his side, marking it up with wide, random brush strokes and different colors.
“That wasn’t even the worst of it.” Del folded his arms. “Last year he started regrading his backyard. Now my basement floods any time we get a decent storm. Of course he wouldn’t accept responsibility.”
“And you didn’t see anybody else at his place Saturday morning?”
Del scratched at his beard again. “In the morning, there were plenty of people stopping for the garage sale.”
“Anybody in particular stand out for you?”
“Just you.”
“Me?”
He nodded. “Everybody knows about your pop and Al.”
Yeah, everybody except her. Missy was trying to figure out what to ask next, when Noreen blurted out:
“Did you kill him?”
Del shook his head at her audacity. “Who are you, Cagney and Lacey?”
Missy didn’t get the reference. Must have been before her time. She decided to back Noreen up. They had already opened the door, might as well go all the way inside.
“You weren’t on good terms with him. You live right next door, which means you had the opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” His eyes were slits now. “People were in and out of there all morning. I would have to be an idiot to go over there and kill him.”
“The murder wasn’t premeditated,” Missy said. “Whoever did this just flew off the handle. I’ll bet you went over there to talk about something, got into an argument, and lost it with him.”
“Your boyfriend has already been through here,” Del said. “Asking me all these same questions. I gotta answer them for him, but I don’t gotta answer them for you. You and your friend can get off my property now.”
Del turned and started walking away. Cody untensed.
“If you didn’t do it,” Missy said, “help us figure out who did.”
Del stopped on the first step onto his porch and turned just his head. “Al Switzer was an…no matter what I thought of him, he didn’t deserve to die. That ain’t right. I’d help if I could but I didn’t see anybody else.”
Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset Page 11
