Lexi's Justice

by Renee Shearer

  “Any idea what happened?”

  “No, but I bet I can guess, and so can you.”

  “Oh My God! I’ve told you before, people don’t actually kill accountants for a bad audit! Stop watching so many cop shows!”

  She sniffed, “I don’t know what you are talking about, Lexi, but it’s interesting don’t you think?”

  “I guess. Well, I’m going to go get dressed, I don’t want the cops to see me in my knickers when they get here.”

  “Knickers? Really? What, are you British now?” Britt laughed at me.

  “Nah, I just like the word, it makes me giggle.” I tell her with a deadpan voice. Then quickly say, “Okay bye! Love you. And yes, I already know to fill you in on all the juicy details later.”

  “Damn straight you will!”

  “You’re such a gossip whore. You know that right?”

  “It’s why you love me.” Britt blew a kiss over the phone and hung up.

  Shaking my head and chuckling, I made my way back to my bedroom to get dressed. I wonder what this means for my job. It’s not like I could take over the business. As far as I could tell Mr. Rothcylde didn’t have any children that could take over either and without any partners, I was just taking a wild stab in the dark here-- I was no longer employed.

  Britt always did say that I could go work with her If I wanted, and I did love the bookstore that she had. But there was something that I loved doing even more. Something I had to give up when I dropped out of college. I had tried to keep up with it, but over time I just got too busy and obsessed with Roxy’s death. Any spare time I had I usually was pouring over the case again. I could recite most, if not all, of it by heart now.

  The doorbell chimes rang throughout the house, snapping me out of my thoughts. I scurried to finish pulling my soft fleece pajama pants on. The were my favorite pair, black with red and pink roses and colorful butterflies on them.

  Jogging down the stairs, I caught myself on the banister as my feet shot out from under me. Fuck! I really need to slow the hell down on these stairs. I’m going to break my neck one of these days. I could feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment as the cop on the other side of my front door made eye contact and smiled at me through the window.

  “Great, just what I need.” I muttered to myself as I went down the rest of the stairs and opened the door, “Hi, come on in. The gossip mills have already called me.”

  Chuckling the cop and his partner strode into my foyer, looking around and nodding their heads in appreciation. My old house had a lot of natural wood to complement the stonework and chandeliers everywhere, It immediately gave off that cozy home feel.

  The first cop was handsome as he took off his cap. His dark brown hair was kept military short and he was clean shaven. His 3 piece suit fit him like a glove, I always was a sucker for a man in a good suit. There was just something about it that sent instant heat to my core. I squirmed a little under his green eyed gaze. His quick flash of a smile seemed to say he knew what he did to women and liked it. He towered over me and I was 5’10, so he had to be an easy 6’6. No wonder Britt was jumping his bones whenever she could.

  His partner was a woman, with white blond hair she kept in a bun and sea blue eyes. She smiled softly at me, as she stuck her hand out to shake, flashing her badge with the other. “I’m Detective Tess Long, and this is my partner, Detective Matt Boyle.”

  “Oh! So you’re the Matt that’s been rocking my best friend’s world. I thought you were an officer though. Oh well, Nice to meet you.” I shook both their hands as Matt’s cheeks turned pink and he ducked his head under his partners glance.

  “Uh, sorry. My mouth runs away with me before I’ve had coffee. I just brewed some. Would you like a cup?” I ask both of them, turning away and heading into the kitchen.

  “Yes, please! I need coffee like I need to breathe air.” I laugh at Tess’s answer, I could like her, she was a woman after my own heart.

  “Sure I could use a cup as well if it’s not too much of a bother.”

  I chuckled and threw a glance over my shoulder, “No, It’s no bother. How do you take it?”

  “Black for me, extra sweet and light for, Long.” Matt chuckled at his partners glare.

  I liked these two, they seemed to get along well and had that easy comradery that only comes from spending long hours with someone.

  “Ah! Now you really are a woman after my own heart, I like mine sweet and light too.” I wink at her as I fix the cups and hand each out.

  Taking a small sip, I sigh in pleasure and motion them out of the kitchen. “Might as well make this as comfortable as we can. Let’s head into the living room.”

  “This is a beautiful home you have. You bought it, what-- 4 or 5 years ago?” Tess asks as she looks around.

  “Yeah, though it’s closer to five now. The second day I was in town I was out walking; I saw the for sale sign and fell in love with it. The house not the sign. Called the realtor that same day.”

  “Wow, you are the only person I know of that had such an easy time getting a house.” Tess laughs, “Most of my friends that are looking have been doing so for almost a year now.”

  I chuckled along with her, “Yeah, I was lucky.”

  We all sat down, they were on the couch and I was sitting across from them in my recliner.

  “So,” I start as I lean back and cross my legs. Taking another sip of my coffee, “Mr. Rothcylde is dead, huh?”

  “Yes, he was killed early this morning. Around 2am, someone walking down the street heard shouting and gunshots. By the time we got there, Mr. Rothcylde was dead and there was no one else there. Can you tell us if he had any enemies?”

  I seriously thought about what I was going to say. I couldn’t very well come out and accuse their chief. But David didn’t have any other people that would want him dead as far as I knew. I mean the man was an accountant for god's sake. Unless the state contacted him to do an audit on someone, there was no reason for anyone to want to kill him.

  “Not that I know of, I wasn’t privy to his personal life though. But as far as work was concerned the man was quiet, and good with numbers. He helped to save his clients’ money and businesses. Unless the state hired him to do an audit of a company and he found something in their books they wanted to keep hidden. Where was he killed? Home or office?”

  “Home. Were there any such clients?” Matt spoke in clipped tones, like he didn’t want me asking any questions. The jovial nice guy cop was slowly melting away, leaving a serious no nonsense man instead.

  I shook my head sending my straight black hair swinging, “No, the last audit we did was over two months ago. I can get you the files for that in the morning if you wish.” I looked out the window, the sky was still dark but I could see the grey edges on the horizon. The sun was going to come up in the next hour or so.

  I sighed, “Or rather later in the morning.”

  Matt looked at me like he knew I was holding back. I hated that look, it made me want to squirm and confess everything. But I held myself in check. I saw the cop shows, I knew how they got suspects to confess their sins, and I was not going to break. I glared back at him, taking another gulp of coffee. It was still too hot and I silently cursed as it burned going down.

  Tess elbowed her partner and glanced at me, “We have heard the rumors of an affair. Any idea who that was with? We’ve heard they met at the office.”

  My palms started to sweat; this was where shit got real. If I didn’t phrase this correctly then, my life would be a living hell. I would probably have to move. “I have an inkling of who it is. He always met with her after normal hours, I would have to stay to make them coffee, only then would he let me go home. She was the only client he didn’t keep me around to grab things like files, or more coffee, or anything else. The man was as lazy as the day was long, If he didn’t have to get up and get it, he wouldn’t. He once made me go into his office, to grab a file for him out of his filing cabinet.”

  “Isn’t that
part of your job?” Matt had such a condescending tone it immediately raised my hackles.

  “The fucking cabinet was right behind him! All he had to do was swing his chair around, stand up, and get it. And for your information, no. My job description is receptionist, not personal secretary. Now back to the matter at hand, I am reluctant to say anything because of who her husband is.” I looked each of them in the eye and made sure to stress the importance of what I was saying. “I don't have proof, just a hunch and how they interacted with each other before I left. Plus I have found certain things left in his office the next day.”

  “Don’t you guys have a cleaner? How would you find these things?” There he went again with that snarky tone. I was starting to dislike Matt.

  I snorted and rolled my eyes, “David was a fucking penny pincher. In the entire four and a half years I have been working for him, he never once gave me a raise. Even though I do the work of three different people. So to answer your question, no we don’t have a cleaner. I go in at 6:30am to clean up the office, and get it ready for the day, when we open at eight. David usually strolls in around 7:45 demanding coffee.”

  Tess was writing notes in a little notebook while Matt just continued to stare at me. I hated when people stared, it made me antsy. But I held his gaze just the same.

  Tess nodded and interjected, “Okay, so tell us who his last client was and we can go from there.”

  I shook my head. It was all on the days schedule so they could find out from there, but it would not come from my lips. Shit like that got back to people, everyone in town would know I snitched on the Police chief's wife by fucking dinner.

  Before I could tell them that, Matt pointed a finger at me, “Hindering an investigation is a punishable offense, Ms. Stone. If you know something you are obligated to tell us. Or I will throw you in jail for obstruction of justice. Unless this is all a rouse and it was you who killed him. You do sound pretty resentful of him. Where were you between one and three this morning?”

  Gone was the nice guy my friend was banging. Gone was the jovial cop just here for a chat. Now asshole detective with a chip on his shoulder was here to play. Goodie for me--not.

  I slowly rose from my seat and carefully set down my coffee on the table, lest I do something like chuck it at him. It would be a waste of perfectly good coffee. “I was here sleeping alone; I went to bed around midnight. Even if I did resent the fact that he was a lazy, penny pinching asshole, I didn’t kill him. I would never kill anyone. I don’t have to tell you who it was because there is no proof and it’s all hearsay. Which is not admissible in court, plus all the information you want on his last client is in his calendar.

  “He made sure to schedule her even if it was after hours stating it was the only time she could make it. That way if anyone had any questions he could say she was there for a meeting. Meaning he covered his tracks. So I’m not telling you shit that you can't find out for yourself if you would just do your damn job, Detective Boyle. Now I will get you the records later this morning, I suggest you get the hell out of my house, before I lose my temper!” I didn’t care if he was a cop, I had enough of them 7 years ago when my sister died, apparently all cops had the same damn attitude.

  Like they were better than you and you had to tell them your fucking life secrets for them to be able to do their investigation. Even if it had nothing to do with what they were actually investigating. It pissed me off to no end and I didn’t have to take it, I wasn’t under arrest, besides what ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? He was acting like I killed David.

  I stormed to the door and flung it open, crossing my arms over my chest and tapping my foot. It was 5:45 in the morning and I was ready for them to get the hell out of my house. My patience was non-existent this early in the morning.

  Tess sighed and put her notebook away as she stood up. Giving her partner a scathing glance she walked towards me, “Thank you for your time, Ms. Stone. Sorry to have disturbed you. We can get those records ourselves, as of right now your office is a crime scene and you can’t go in.”

  I shook my head again and gave her a small smile, “My computer has two different passwords, if its entered wrong three times it wipes everything.”

  Both her and Matt looked shocked, “Why the hell would the computer of an accountant’s secretary have that much protection?” I ground my teeth at Matt’s condescending tone. The prick was asking to be slapped.

  I held up my fingers and counted off my points, “One, I am a receptionist. Two, It is not my computer but the office’s so I have no idea why he wanted it that way, but that was the way David had it set up. Three,” I paused and glared hard at Matt, “I don’t like you Detective Boyle, you can be sure that I will mention your attitude to Britt. Don’t expect anymore booty calls from her. Four, I’m sure you guys looked me up before coming here. I know you know about my sister, and my relentless pursuit for the past 7 years to find her killer. Hell, I bugged the sheriff when I first got here. After so long and nothing to show for it, I stopped actively looking. But I still go over her case files again and again. Now, I had no reason to want my boss dead, without him I have no job. I kept to myself, played nice with the clients and did my damn job better than he deserved.”

  Matt paled as I finished my rant, the severity of my words hitting him, I fought to contain my smirk of triumph. The first thing Britt tells any of the guys she sleeps with is that if they cross me, it’s over. Same goes for me, Christian had to go through her after our second date. I love that girl like no tomorrow, she more of a sister to me than my best friend. Lately she’s been making subtle hints that she may have been wrong. I have to agree with her, something about Christian hasn’t been sitting well with me.

  I snap out of my inner thoughts when a throat clears, I direct my gaze to Tess, she doesn’t even try to contain her smirk, “Can you write down the passwords for us then? I’m sorry but we can’t let you on site at the moment.”

  “Oh, of course I didn’t even think of that.” I mentally kicked myself as I stride towards the kitchen once again and grab a pad of paper and pen off my fridge. I write down the passwords with simple instructions on how to find the calendar and files. As I pass them over to Tess, I feel Matt’s eyes on me, willing me to look at him. I refuse to. That fucking jackass can go rot in hell and suck the devil's dick.

  “Have a nice day, Detective's. I hope you catch who did this. Let me know if there is anything else you need from me. I will be around all week, except Saturday.”

  “You plan on leaving the state?” Matt quickly asks.

  “No,” I say slowly so his minuscule brain can comprehend me, “I’m going hiking with my boyfriend this weekend. We should be back Sunday night.”

  “Oh,” Matt deflated, he can’t stand that there isn’t something he can get me on. What the hell is his problem? I fully planned on telling Britt she needed to drop this guy like a good habit. I never understood that saying drop someone like a bad habit. Bad habits are hard to drop. So telling someone to drop something like a bad habit just means you're telling them they more than likely won't be able to drop it. Good habits however, now those, you could drop in the blink of an eye.

  “Have a good day, Ms. Stone. If there is anything else you can think of or need please don’t hesitate to call me.” Tess hands over her card. I don’t miss the fact that she didn’t say “us”.

  “Sure, no problem. See ya.” I wave them out the door, slowly closing and locking it. Looking around my house I sigh, I could either try and go back to bed since I no longer had a job, or I could take a shower and get ready for the day. I shake my head as I head back upstairs to shower, there is no way I will be able to sleep right now.

  Three

  Stepping into Britt’s café was almost as good as stepping into my home. I loved the smell here, from all the fresh baked goods upstairs mingled with that smell only books have. Britt had been in business for almost ten years now, The Witch’s Brew boasted one of Salem’s best café’s
for breakfast and lunch, which made it the hangout spot for all ages. It was also where Britt and I first met.

  With two stories jam packed with shelves upon shelves of books, mixed with tarot cards, candles, crystals and a bunch of other stuff. Everyone loved coming here, plus it was a great spot to get caught up on your local gossip.

  As soon as she saw me, Britt passed off the register to her new girl and came to give me one of her famous hugs. She may be shorter than me by a good 3 inches and slightly on the curvier side, but she makes up for that by being big in her personality. With her shock of long vivid amethyst hair varying in shades from dark to light, and pacific blue almond shaped eyes; high slashing cheek bones and porn star worthy lips, Britt was a force to be reckoned with. She knew everything and everyone in this town and had at least 95% of them wrapped around her finger. The girl should be mayor.

  Today she was wearing one of her long black skirts that hugged her ass and flared out slightly at the bottom, she had paired that with a black and white top that was tight across her boobs and flowed out at the bottom and her wrists. I shook my head when she pulled back and I saw the little witch she had pinned in her hair. Come October Britt would be fully embracing her witchy persona.

  “How you doin', kid?” Her eyes were concerned but she had a beautiful smile on her face.

  I snorted a laugh, “Kid? Britt, I’m only younger than you by a year! Just because you're 29 does not mean I am a kid!”

  “No, but it made you laugh!”

  Laughing and shaking my head, I grabbed her arm and towed her upstairs to where the café was. “Yes you did, dork. Now come on and feed me and I’ll tell you everything.”

  If she had both of her hands free I’m sure she would have rubbed them in glee.

  After we had gotten coffee and I had added a blueberry muffin with a western omelet to my order, we went and sat down at one of the tables outside on the balcony. Britt had remodeled the upstairs café last year, adding in the cute balcony seating during the warmer months. I loved how she had decorated it, she really did have an eye for things. She loved to browse the antiques stores and would always be able to find the hidden gem. The one piece that would bring the whole room together. She never missed the mark either, where it took me months of agonizing over color palettes to pick one and it always turned out wrong. I wasn’t jealous of her at all.