Killer Cravings
Page 10
“Yeah,” she said. “It always is when someone cheats.”
“Oh, wow,” I said, frowning. “Men, right? That seems to be a theme right now.”
“Women too,” she said, and she sat the frame down in front of me where I saw a cheesy Christmas photo – Deb and another woman wearing matching Christmas sweaters, their faces squished into the frame of the photo with the other woman holding a mistletoe and squishing her lips against Deb’s flushed cheeks.
“Oh!” I said. “I guess I shouldn’t assume. I’m sorry. Was the breakup recent?”
“Three days ago,” she said.
“How long had you two been together?” I asked.
“Five years,” she said, and I felt my stomach twist for her when she said it.
I shook my head. “That’s rough.”
“Yes, it is,” she said. “I think I need to unwind. I’ve been kind of pushing myself into work, and frankly that’s not healthy.”
I smiled. “You know, if you need to unwind, I’m doing a girl’s night out tonight.”
Deb seemed somewhat intrigued. “You don’t know me.”
“No,” I said. “But, it never hurts to make a new friend.”
“Didn’t I hear you say you were pregnant?” she asked.
“It’s going to be a wild, sober girl’s night,” I said, smirking.
She laughed. “You know what? I’m game. I think I could use a girl’s night.”
Chapter Twelve
I really needed a girl’s night out, so I was pretty excited that Paula had decided to drag me out that night. Jim was staying at home with Laurie, getting some much-needed daddy-daughter time. He’d been working late at the office a good bit over the past several days, so he hadn’t seen her much.
I met Mom and Paula at one of those nice Mexican chain restaurants – a place where Mom and Paula could get themselves some margaritas and where I could tackle my latest pregnancy craving – nachos.
We sat down in a booth, and Mom whipped open the menu. She always had the hardest time picking what she wanted to eat at Mexican restaurants because everything always sounded good to her. Mexican food was kind of her vice.
“I hope you two don’t mind, but I invited a new friend tonight,” I said. “She just texted me and said she’s five minutes out.”
“A new friend?” Paula questioned. “How dare you – you’re not allowed to have other friends.”
I laughed, and so did my Mom. “Who is your new friend?” Mom asked.
“Her name’s Deb. I met her at the police station,” I said.
“I hope she wasn’t under arrest,” Paula joked.
“She’s the officer who arrested Raymond after the hit and run,” I said. “And, she took a chance on me and let me work Raymond to get a confession on tape. It was pretty easy, honestly. He was ready to talk as soon as he saw me. He threatened me too, so they have that on recording. He’s going to be going away for a very long time.”
“Good,” Mom said.
Deb arrived, and she looked positively stunning in her silky black, long sleeved V-neck. She plopped down in the booth next to Paula and stuck her hand out. “Deb Fisher,” she said to Paula.
Mom introduced herself while sipping on her margarita. Deb nodded at the drinks. “And, here I thought partying with a pregnant woman meant I wasn’t going to get to have a drink!”
“Please, we never let Kate stop us from having a little fun,” my mom teased.
“Plus, she’s going to make us do karaoke by the time this night is through,” Paula said, pointing a finger in my mom’s direction in an accusing manner. “And, if I’m going to have to suffer through that, you better believe I’m going to need to down this thing.”
Deb nodded, her hair falling down on her shoulders in thick curls. “Good to know. Karaoke, huh? This sounds like my kind of group.”
“Awesome, so you’re down for karaoke?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” she said. “They do that here?”
“Every Thursday night,” Paula said.
Deb ordered herself a margarita when the server made her way over. We all ordered dinner, and with that our girls night officially kicked off. We laughed, got to know Deb, and just generally enjoyed ourselves. Halfway through our dinner, karaoke got going, and Mom and Deb scurried up on stage to do a duet together while Paula and I laughed and poked fun at them from the table. The moment allowed a little bit of alone time between Paula and me.
“So, how is the case coming?” Paula asked, and I shrugged.
“Could be better,” I said. “A lot of cheaters, and I really don’t like dealing with that. But, like Galigani said, in the PI business that’s one of the most common cases I’m going to get stuck with. So, I guess I got to get used to it.”
“Probably makes Jim seem like a saint, am I right?” Paula said, and she noticed me cringe. “Something going on with you and Jim?”
“I don’t know… maybe. A part of me thinks it’s just me being paranoid.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I guess I’m just a little worried,” I said. “It’s probably this case that’s doing it to me.”
“How so?”
“Just dealing with Raymond, mostly,” I said.
“Wait, don’t you dare tell me you’re worried that Jim might cheat on you,” Paula jeered. “Kate, you have yourself a great man there. Don’t get in your head.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “But, Jim… well, he lied to me, Paula. You know that café he has been going to for me to get those brownies?”
“Yeah?”
“His ex-girlfriend, from high school, she owns it. He had been going up there and seeing her, and he didn’t tell me. Then, they got into some argument, and she called the cops on him. And, I found… text messages. She had texted him some weird smiley faces, and she messaged him and called him sexy!”
“Oh, come on, Kate… it’s Jim. Are you sure you’re not just reading things wrong?” Paula asked.
“I don’t know, and that’s the problem,” I said. “Jim won’t tell me anything. He doesn’t want to talk about this Cassandra person. He’s being so weird. It’s making me antsy. And, let’s be honest, I don’t exactly look like I did when we first got married. I gained some weight with Laurie—”
“Come on, Kate. You’ve got to be kidding me. You look fantastic.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. And now I’m pregnant again. I mean, it’s twins!? I don’t even want to think about what they’re going to do to my figure. Maybe Jim isn’t… attracted to me anymore?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Paula said. “Kate, listen to Paula. Jim adores you. He is a wonderful, wonderful husband. He treats you good. You’re just getting a taste of what it’s like being married to an imperfect human being. Maybe he flirted a little bit with his ex-girlfriend because of just that – it’s his ex-girlfriend. If they were texting, it was probably about your brownies and she was just being a little flirty because, well, they used to date. And, you know what? He might have even flirted back a little because it’s someone he knows and is familiar with, and it was all just him being friendly because that’s just Jim. He’s called me gorgeous lady before – in front of you. He’s a friendly guy. But, he’s faithful. I don’t doubt that.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Paula. You’re right. I’m just being… too…”
“Pregnant,” we said together and laughed.
Mom and Deb plopped down at the table, and we congratulated them on the tipsy cat-screams they called singing. I was finally starting to feel better and relaxing into the evening when suddenly, Deb ducked behind her drink menu and started grumbling under her breath.
“You okay there, Deb?” Paula asked.
“I just saw my ex,” she griped.
“Ooh, no,” Paula said. “Need us to chase him off?”
Deb frowned. “Crud, she sees me.”
We turned, and I saw the woman from the photo on Deb’s desk. She was with another woman, walking ar
m in arm as she strutted her way over. “Deb!” she exclaimed. “Good to see you.”
“Yeah, you too,” Deb said uncomfortably.
“Who are your friends?” she asked.
Deb did a quick introduction, calling the woman Jasmine. Jasmine’s partner just stood back, smiling with this very smug look on her face. Eventually the woman left, and she and the new girl found seats a good distance from us – thankfully.
“So, Jasmine is the ex?” Mom asked.
“Yes,” Deb groaned.
“Is the woman she’s with the woman she, um…” I paused, realizing I probably shouldn’t be revealing too much information in front of Mom and Paula. She likely didn’t want to talk about it.
“No, that wasn’t her,” Deb said. “I don’t think Jasmine is quite trashy enough to come walking up to me with the woman she cheated on me with.”
If only.
No, Jasmine had something just as trashy in mind. Ten minutes later, Jasmine and her new fling were up on stage singing Constant Craving. I saw Deb tense up, and I know Mom and Paula noticed it to.
“Something wrong?” my mom asked.
“It’s nothing,” Deb griped. “Well, not really. That was our song.”
Jasmine kept glancing over – that same satirical smirk on her face.
“Ooh, I could break that little girl’s nose,” Mom said. “And, I could do it.”
“Easy there, Mom,” I said.
“I think I’m going to just go,” Deb said.
“Then we’re going with,” Paula said and waved a server down. Paula threw everything on her card so that we could get out of there as quickly as possible. “We’re going to go get some freaking ice cream,” Paula declared, and Deb smiled at her.
“That sounds just perfect,” Deb said as the server dropped off the check.
We all scooted out of the booths. Being a fatty pregnant lady, I shoveled a few more bites of what was left of my nachos into my mouth before scooting out of the booth. They all had a good laugh at that.
Of course, Jasmine couldn’t resist sashaying over. “Leaving so soon?” she asked.
“Save it,” I hissed, and I surprised myself at how sassy I sounded.
Jasmine even took a step back. “What’s your problem?” she asked me.
“Walk away,” I said, and she did. I’d sounded like an evil sorceress with the way the simple command had slipped from my lips, and I’m sure the scowl on my face also had done the job of striking some terror in her.
We headed out, and Deb started laughing once we made it to the parking lot. “I think you scared her,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Kate can be scary when she wants to be,” Paula said. “You should see what she does to people who try to separate her from her nachos.”
I pinched Paula’s arm so hard, she shrieked.
“See what I mean?” she complained.
We crossed the street where there was a nice, family owned ice cream parlor that made some of the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever had in my life.
Maybe I’m still craving sweets.
Deb ordered herself a double scoop of double chocolate chunk ice cream, and it looked so good that I got myself the exact same thing and had them add some chocolate and caramel fudge. We sat around half the night in that ice cream parlor laughing and poking fun at Jasmine’s awful rendition of Constant Craving.
Frankly, I’d had a wonderful time. And, I’d managed to make a cop buddy just as Galigani had instructed, and it’d been easier than I thought.
I was glad to have befriended Deb.
Just as we were finishing slurping up the last of the chocolate sauce, Deb said. “I got a warrant to search Raymond’s house tomorrow.”
My jaw dropped. “Can I go with you?” I blurted.
She laughed. “Of course not! I can’t take you with me. That would be breaking every rule in the book.”
I frowned. “Right, of course.”
Deb shrugged. “But you know, if you just showed up there…”
I quirked an eyebrow at her. “What time would I just show up?”
“8 am,” she replied.
Mom clapped her hands. “Kate! I want to see my grandbaby! Why don’t I come by tomorrow around 8 am?”
I winked at her. “Thanks mom, you’re the best.”
I said farewell to Deb, Mom, and Paula after we returned to our vehicles. I drove home, a little later than I’d planned. Jim was already asleep, and he had managed to get Laurie down for bed as well. I wanted popcorn all of a sudden – as if I hadn’t already eaten enough junk food that night. These kids were going to have very serious snacking problems.
I popped the popcorn and started chowing down, and boy was it amazing. But, then, sitting in my living room I suddenly got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Like, someone was watching me.
I looked up, glancing out my front window. I could almost swear that I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me. I jumped up and ran, flipping on my porch lights. No one was out there, but I definitely saw some taillights speeding off. Someone had been watching me through the window.
I double checked all the locks in the house and added Get an Alarm System. system to my to-do list. I thought about calling the police, but I was worried I’d come off as some crazy, paranoid woman.
Raymond was in jail, after all.
Who else could possibly be after me?
Chapter Thirteen
I met Deb outside of Raymond and Sarah’s home the next morning. Sarah had left the door unlocked for us – more than willing to let us look through the house if her soon-to-be ex-husband had been up to something sneaky. Sarah was across town taking care of some sort of business she couldn’t get away from. Deb, along with about three other officers, arrived shortly after me.
One of the other officers squinted at me and growled at Deb. She said something in hushed tones that I couldn’t overhear, but the man made a face at me and said nothing more.
We all spread out, searching the house for anything that could further convict Raymond. We already had him confess to attempting to kill me and beating up a teenager, but he had yet to confess to murdering Morgan. He was outright denying it, and frankly, he was our primary suspect at the time.
“What about Sarah?” Deb asked while I was snooping through some drawers in the couple’s living room.
“What about her?” I asked.
“Could she have killed Morgan?” she asked.
“I mean, it’s possible,” I said. “But, from what I could tell when I showed her the pictures of Raymond and Morgan, she was pretty shocked by it all. She also acted like she had no idea who Morgan was. And, I believed her. It seemed like legitimate surprise. And, I didn’t show her the pictures until after Morgan had been killed, so it’s not like I tipped her off and then she went and killed her. Plus, Sarah seems kind of like a fragile individual. I don’t think she has it in her to kill someone.”
Deb grunted. “You’d be surprised.”
We spent hours in that house, and frankly we didn’t find anything condemning. One of the officers took Raymond’s computer back to the station to sift through emails and browser history.
We checked every inch of that house, but didn’t find anything that would convict him of murder.
“No smoking bottle of chloroform,” I whined.
Deb laughed. “Well, I didn’t expect that. He probably dumped the empty bottle. But I was hoping for at least a copy of the key to the bakery.”
“You still think it was Raymond?” I asked.
“I do,” Deb said. “He was willing to kill you to keep his secret. And, he beat up a kid. It sounds like he really wanted this secret to be kept. He was a creep, but he didn’t want to ruin his marriage either. He was desperate and very violent. He could have resorted to murder. Maybe the techs will uncover something in his web browser search. Plus we have his credit card records subpoenaed. If he bought anything online or otherwise, we’ll be able to track it.
“If our killer hadn’t been after Morgan, then we’re at a loss,” Deb said. “We have a list of everyone who was at the party, and it’s extensive. There’s the bakery workers, the actors, the stage crew, the playwright, and several friends and family members of anyone related to the show. We have no way of knowing who the intended target had been if it wasn’t Morgan.”
“The only thing we can do, it seems, is narrow it down,” I said. “Maybe instead of trying to convict Raymond, we should be trying to prove his innocence?” Saying that literally made me throw up a little in my mouth.
“Prove his innocence?” Deb questioned. “That creep tried to kill you.”
“Yeah, and I’m going to be very satisfied to see him go to jail for that, but even though I can’t stand him doesn’t mean I want to convict him of something he didn’t do. If we can’t prove he’s guilty, maybe we should see if we could clear him of the crime instead of wasting our time on him. Like you said, there were a lot of people at that party. Raymond wasn’t there. And, he punched a teenager in the face and ran into my car; poisoning brownies just doesn’t seem like his MO.”
“But he could have poisoned the brownies at the bakery, and dating Morgan, he probably had access to it,” Deb argued.
“But, wouldn’t it make sense for the killer to have been at the party? To try and make sure his intended victim ate the brownies?”
“Yes, unless our killer didn’t care about collateral damage,” Deb said. “But, you’re right. Raymond gave us an alibi, said he was fishing with some buddies, but I haven’t been able to track them down. Maybe I need to try a little harder and verify his story.”
“While you’re working on that, I’m going to call Sarah again. Go speak with her and see if she can give us any insight on Raymond. And, I’ll go by the bakery to talk to the employees there as well. Maybe jog some of their memories and see if they remember seeing anything that day leading up to the party,” I said, and Deb nodded.