“What are you doing?” I wish I could say that I demand he answer the question, but I’m too weary for demands and, let’s face it, I’m still just a newbie.
“We don’t think you should be alone tonight.”
“We?” My eyebrow’s going to get tired at this rate.
“Your grandmother agrees with me.”
“Fine. I hope the sofa’s comfortable.” I’m too emotionally and physically tired to give a gosh darn at this moment.
After I get the door open, I immediately walk to the closet and grab extra blankets. I throw these, along with a pillow from my bed, onto the couch without comment. I quickly change into my least sexy and not even cute pajamas in the bathroom and then crawl into bed. I vaguely remember reaching for my Kindle before lights out.
♥♥♥
My butt is dragging at work on Tuesday. The store is dead as a doornail and I can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or not. On the one hand, I haven’t fallen asleep while helping a customer, but, on the other hand, a customer or two might actually wake me up. How many times can someone refold t-shirts? I guess I’m going to find out today.
My phone buzzes and almost causes me to drop the pile of perfectly re-folded jeans in my hands. I pull it out to look at the text.
Izzy: Sitrep 2nite @mine @6
Me: Wtheck is sitrep?
Izzy: Situational report
Me: Too many military romances?
Izzy: Just b here
Me: K
I want to run home after work and grab my car to drive to Izzy’s house. It’s not that I’m afraid of being stranded there. Someone will always give me a ride, but I want some capability to say how long I’ll stay and how much I’ll put up with. It’s not much I know, but I’m slowly trying to assert my independence. Of course, my plans never come to fruition. Tommy walks in at quarter to six with a huge smile on his face.
“Hi, baby. Thanks for letting me sleep in this morning,” he says with a wink. So, yeah, I totally snuck out of my apartment this morning. I didn’t want to have some awkward morning after, especially since we haven’t even done the deed yet. Yet! Egad! Mental head slap. Do not think of doing sexy things with other men the day after your husband’s funeral!
I look up to see Tommy staring at me. I must have been having quite the long conversation with myself. Oops. “What are you doing here?” I blurt out to cover up the slight blush my mental talk is causing.
“Sitrep at six.” I don’t bother trying to talk him out of giving me a ride. I’m an expert on choosing which battles to fight and when to lay down my sword. Instead, I move on to more important things – food.
“It’s dinner time. Should we bring something?” I ask as my eyes sweep Tommy’s body. He really does look smokin’ in his jeans and too tight t-shirt. Does he buy them too small on purpose? Or do they just not make a t-shirt to contain his chest? I catch myself right before I sigh out loud.
Tommy smirks at me but doesn’t call me out for nearly drooling over his upper body. “No worries. I called Izzy. We’re doing a BBQ. I’ve got drinks, chips, and buns already packed in the jeep.”
I guess I should have called Izzy to figure something out as well. I didn’t even think of it. I guess not being allowed to have friends or go to social events without Brock for the past decade has dulled my social skills. Oh yeah, I’m totally blaming Brock for my social awkwardness. It’s not like he’s here to defend himself. Huh. It looks like my internal bitch is making a comeback.
Izzy and Noel’s house is hopping by the time we arrive. Tommy doesn’t bother to go to the front door. He merely walks around the house to the backyard. Wow! Their yard is huge. Except for the small copse of trees, you can see for miles due to the flat terrain here.
Tommy immediately heads to the kitchen with his grocery bags while I move to the grandmas sitting at a large picnic table. Noel’s manning the grill while Damien hovers around him with a beer. Jack and Izzy are giggling like high school girls on the porch swing. Everyone looks happy. Is this what normal looks like? I think I might like normal.
Before I know it, I’ve eaten my weight in hamburgers and potato salad. The elderly guests are in the kitchen washing up. I’m walking back and forth delivering dirty dishes and leftovers to Grandma while Noel and Damien clean up the grill. Jack and Izzy have disappeared.
“Dee,” Izzy shouts from somewhere in the house. I find her and Jack in a formal dining room, which I haven’t seen before. I start to ask what’s going on, but then I see the boxes from our foray at Brock’s office yesterday on the table and stop. I raise an eyebrow at her and cross my arms over my chest. I feel a bit faint when I realize how confrontational my pose is, but I stop myself from moving. I just need to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to have an opinion, even if it is confrontational. Right?
“We need to go through the boxes for clues,” Izzy explains as Jack nods enthusiastically next to her. I try not roll my eyes at her. I’m pushing my luck with the raised eyebrow and crossed arms already.
“She’s right, Dee,” Tommy says from right beside me. I drop my arms and nearly jump out of my skin. “We need to at least figure out if Brock was living in town.”
Gulp. “You mean if he was stalking me.” Tommy nods. I sigh. I don’t get a chance to respond, however, because the gray-haired gang has arrived.
Betty rubs her hands together. “Let’s get started.”
Tommy grabs my hand and walks to a box in the corner. I recognize it as the small box I filled with stuff from Brock’s desk. He grabs the box with one hand and puts it on the end of the table. He releases my hand to push me into the chair and opens the box.
“What are we looking for?” I whisper to avoid the grandmas answering. I don’t want to know what the gray-haired detectives are searching for.
“I want to figure out if your husband was really in town or not.” He shrugs. “So a lease or something I guess.”
“What does that prove?” I ask as I start to dig into the box. I pull out a stapler and hole punch.
Tommy shrugs. “I don’t know. I just need to know.” His teeth are gritted. I roll my eyes but make sure to keep my head down so Tommy doesn’t see my act of defiance.
I separate everything as I take item after item from the box. Office supplies, empty pads of paper, pens, etc. in one pile and documents in another. It only takes a few minutes to empty the contents of the box onto the table. After I’ve finished, I shove everything from the office supplies pile back into the box. Don’t need those. Tommy grabs a chair and sits next to me as I start to go through the documents. Most of the papers are articles about up-and-coming companies. I assume this was research for investments Brock was planning on making.
Mid-way through the pile, I come across an envelope. The envelope has the words Town & Country Apartments written in Brock’s scrawling handwriting across the front of it. Sugar stains! There is a Town & Country Apartment complex north of town. My hands tremble as I open the envelope. Sure enough, it’s a lease agreement.
Tommy is leaning over me reading the lease. “Son of a bitch,” he mutters. “This lease started up two months ago. Isn’t that when you moved back?”
I notice the entire room has turned deathly quiet and look up. Everyone is staring at us and Noel is stalking toward me. He holds out his hand and I give him the lease without hesitation. He quickly looks at it before returning his gaze to me while shaking his head. “I heard that Brock was killed in an apartment, but I couldn’t get any more information than that.” He grabs his phone from his pocket and walks out of the room dialing.
Everyone’s quiet as we wait for Noel to return. It’s not like the ladies to be quiet. They must be trying to eavesdrop on his conversation. It doesn’t take long before Noel returns. He puts his phone away and looks at me.
“What?” I squeak.
Noel sighs. “I just confirmed that the address of the apartment on this lease is the same place Brock was found.”
Oh boy. I swallo
w to buy a bit of time before asking, “Was he stalking me?”
Noel nods. “That’s the theory Detective Smith is going with. After you left your husband, he stalked you here, you got fed up and shot him.”
“Shot him!” I’m indignant. “I’ve never even held a weapon in my hands. Can’t they do that gunshot residue test thingy to prove I’m innocent?” Yeah, I watch a lot of detective shows on television.
Noel shakes his head. “Gunshot residue only lasts for so long. Smith should have done a test right away but…” Smith is a total butthole I silently add, and I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking that.
“But isn’t it good that he didn’t?” Rose remarks. “It’s another mess up to establish doubt in the jury’s minds.” Wow! Didn’t think of that. So glad Rose is on my side.
Noel nods. “That’s true, but if he had done the test in time, it would prove her innocent and he wouldn’t even be able to charge her.”
“He hasn’t charged me yet.” I manage to say the very scary words without my voice wobbling – too much.
“Not for lack of trying,” Noel says before handing me back the lease agreement.
“We need to do a recon of Brock’s apartment.” Betty tries to take charge of the situation.
Noel shakes his head. “You can’t do that. It’s dangerous. We don’t know who shot Brock or why he was killed. Someone could be watching the place.”
Grandma gives Noel a look that would make the Pope feel guilty. “This Detective Smith is trying to frame Delilah for a murder she didn’t commit. We can’t sit at home and just knit.” The group of grandma detective wannabes nod their heads in agreement.
“So how are we going to get in there?” Ally asks.
Rose shrugs. “It’s an apartment complex so we can’t be walking around the yard looking through windows without the other renters noticing.”
Tommy looks at the lease. “And he’s on the second floor.”
“Can’t we get one of those things they used in the last Mission: Impossible movie?” Martha asks. “They got in everywhere with that thing.”
Tommy makes a weird choking noise before answering. “I think that was just a movie prop. I don’t think it really exists.”
“Well, that’s a bummer,” Martha mumbles. “I really wanted one of those.”
“I’ve been watching some videos on the line.” Everyone turns to Ally. “On that tube station. They have lots of videos about lock picking. I think I’m ready to try.”
“Maybe I should just break down the door,” Tommy says and my head swivels to him.
“Are you out of your mind?” I whisper-shout. “You’ll lose your job!”
He shrugs. “Only if I get caught.” He leans down and whispers right into my ear. “You’re worth it.”
I decide to ignore the goose bumps caused by him whispering directly into my ear and narrow my eyes at him. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Enough!” Noel’s commanding voice immediately quiets the entire room. All heads turn toward him. He stands with his hands on his hips and his feet planted shoulder-width apart. I’m really, really glad he’s on my side. “I’ll get the key. We’ll go tomorrow at lunch when the other residents will be at work.” The ladies start to chitter in excitement, but one look from Noel has them quieting down again. “Not everyone is going. Rosemary, Dee, Tommy, and I will be the only ones going inside. The rest of you will wait for us here.” He looks at Grandma. “I’m letting you go with us because Dee’s your granddaughter. Do not disappoint me.”
I expect Grandma to be mad, but she just nods at Noel. The rest of the gray-haired group also nod in agreement. Izzy pouts, but she doesn’t contradict her husband. I’m not sure what just happened, but I think I may have agreed to stage a break-in with a detective.
Chapter 21
“A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into.” Ansel Adams
By the time noon rolls around on Wednesday, I’ve managed to drop nearly every item of merchandise available at Fabulous, Darling. My boss, Danny, is now following me around picking up after me as if I’m an out-of-control toddler. I haven’t seen Jack so I assume he’s avoiding the store. At exactly one minute before noon, I know because I’ve looked at the big clock on the wall every five minutes since I arrived, Noel opens the employee-only door and motions for me. Danny quickly pushes me out of the store.
Grandma is waiting in Noel’s car when we exit. Luckily, Noel is a detective and doesn’t drive a patrol car, although Grandma would probably get a kick out of riding in a cop car. I slide into the back seat next to Grandma, and Noel takes off for the Town & Country Apartments. Grandma grabs my hand and squeezes it. I turn and smile at her. She doesn’t look nervous at all whereas I am jumpy from too much coffee after a night of tossing and turning. I probably shouldn’t worry about being arrested for breaking and entering seeing as I’m still a murder suspect, but I didn’t commit the murder. The breaking and entering on the other hand…
Tommy’s waiting for us when we arrive at the parking lot of the apartment complex. He nods to Noel but bypasses him to walk directly to me. He leans down and kisses my forehead before greeting Grandma with a smile. I wish I could say my forehead doesn’t tingle from that innocent kiss, but I’m not a liar. Noel leads us into one of the apartment buildings. Tommy and I are right behind him with Grandma bringing up the rear.
There’s still police tape across the door to Brock’s apartment. Noel isn’t bothered by it all. He unlocks the door and then merely ducks under the tape. Tommy follows him and then turns around to help me. I’m short and easily pass under the tape as does Grandma.
The apartment isn’t what I expected. To be honest I don’t know what I expected, but this isn’t it. It looks like a model apartment. The furniture is brand-new and sparse. There are no personal effects whatsoever. Not a picture decorates the place. It doesn’t look like anyone even lived here. The only thing out of place is a large sheet laying on the floor in the middle of the living room. I gulp when I see a splotch of red on the otherwise white sheet and realize what the sheet’s covering and quickly look somewhere – anywhere – else.
I rush through the living room to the main bedroom. It too is sparsely decorated. The unmade bed is the only clue that someone did indeed spend time in this apartment. The others follow me into the bedroom and Noel starts to open and close some drawers in the bedroom dresser, but there’s not much to see. Looks like this trip was a waste of time.
We move on to the bathroom, which is surprisingly clean. Although Brock expected his house to be spic and span, he sure didn’t do anything to keep it that way, and I wasn’t allowed to hire a cleaner. The clean bathroom is further proof that Brock didn’t spend much time in this apartment aside from sleeping in the bed.
One more bedroom and my escapade as a criminal is over. Noel pulls the door open and curses a bunch of words I’ve never heard before. He tries to stop me from entering, but he’s too stunned to be effective. I stop just inside the door as my eyes take in the contents of the room. Unbelievable. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling with pictures of me. And they’re not any old pictures. Nope. These are all photos of me from the past two months since I moved back to town.
I’m not the only star of this room, however. There are also pictures of the grandma gang, Izzy, Jack, Damien, and Noel. I move closer when I see some pictures covered with red x’s. Those are the pictures of Tommy. His face is crossed out with such vigor that there are scratches on the images. I’m still staring at the photos when I hear Tommy behind me. “What the fuck?” He pulls me to him and holds on tightly. That’s when I realize I’m shaking. He holds me even tighter and I take comfort in the smell of him – clean soap and a tiny splash of aftershave.
I hear clicking and turn to see Noel taking pictures of the room. “What are you doing?”
“We’re not supposed to be here so I don’t have time to catalog this room, but we need to go through these pictures.” He distractedly answer
s as he continues to take pictures with his phone.
I turn to escape the room. I’ve had enough of creepy Brock for today. I nearly run into Grandma standing still as a statue at the threshold of the room. She looks at me with a devastated face. I know she blames herself for this. She thinks she should have taken me away from Brock long before it got this bad. There’s nothing I can say to her that will make her change her mind.
♥♥♥
Why am I on Tommy’s lap? I don’t remember the drive from Brock’s haunted house to Izzy’s place, but it must have taken place because I am most definitely sitting on Tommy’s lap at Izzy’s kitchen table. I squirm and try to get up. Tommy just locks his arms around me making it nearly impossible for me to move, let alone stand up. I give him a look, which is supposed to convey the fact that we’re just friends, but he only smiles at me in response. Apparently, I need to work on my non-verbal communication.
“So,” Betty interrupts my thoughts. “What did you find out?” She looks at Grandma for answers.
“Well,” Grandma starts but then stops to take a deep breath. “It was …” I grab Grandma’s arm and squeeze.
Noel and Tommy look at each other and Tommy nods at Noel. They obviously don’t need to work on their non-verbal communication. “It appears that Brock was stalking Dee.”
“Stalking how?” Betty stares at Noel as if he’s hiding something. As if anyone would dare.
“He had a room plastered with pictures of me,” I answer. “They were all taken since I moved here.”
Shouts of ‘what’ and ‘oh my’ are drowned out when Tommy speaks. “And that’s why Dee’s going to be staying with me.”
I whip my head around and nearly take out Tommy’s nose. “What the heck are you talking about? Brock’s dead. There’s no danger anymore.”
The Gray-Haired Knitting Detective Series: (Books 1 - 3) Page 39
