A Whole Latte Murder

by Caroline Fardig

  I stopped in mid-chew of the granola bar I’d found. Surely he was kidding, because it didn’t even hurt that much. Based on the minimal pain, I was hoping to wake up looking better as well. I mumbled, “Exactly how bad is it?”

  “You should probably see for yourself.”

  I took off for Pete’s bathroom, and when I looked in the mirror I nearly fell over. Yes, I had two ugly black eyes, and the bruising on my nose had spread out beneath the small bandage. I was expecting this, but seeing it was still depressing. I gingerly took the bandage off, which was obviously a mistake because Pete, who was leaning against the doorframe, made a face and said, “Gross.”

  I glared at him. “If my face bothers you so much, maybe you have a bag you could lend me to wear?”

  He snickered. “Oh, calm down, Jules. A little makeup and you’ll be good as new.”

  —

  A little makeup, my ass. It took a quarter tube of concealer to cover the bruising, and then I looked like a clown had done my makeup. All my cosmetic worries fell away, however, when Pete and I reached Java Jive and discovered the place was packed with people ready to make a day of searching for Kira.

  I found Polly sitting at the counter, divvying out assignments to the new teams. When she saw me, she stopped what she was doing and pulled me aside.

  “I thought you were supposed to get some rest after what happened last night. You look worse this morning, if that’s possible,” she said, hovering way too close in my personal space.

  I took a step back. “I know. I tried, but I couldn’t sleep.” I changed the subject. “What about you, though? You’ve been here for over twelve hours.”

  She smiled. “My replacement, Sarah, is coming any minute now. I’ll run home and get some rest, and then I’ll be back this afternoon.” She laid a hand on my arm. “Juliet, please think about slowing your pace a little, or at some point you’ll crash and be completely out of commission. Take breaks, and try to get some rest.”

  Nodding, I said, “I will.”

  I meandered through the crowd, noticing that many who had been here last night were back again, but there were also some new faces. I was delighted to see my new friends Maya and Brooke sitting on the couch. I made a beeline for them.

  “Hey, girls!” I said, perching next to them on the arm of the couch. “Thanks for coming out today.”

  “Ryder said you could use some help, so we thought we’d lend a hand,” Maya replied.

  Brooke asked, “Are you okay? Did something happen to your nose?”

  “Leave it to a nurse to notice the two black eyes and busted nose I’m trying so desperately to cover up,” I replied. “Tennis injury.”

  Brooke nodded sympathetically. “Racket to the face?”

  “Yep.”

  “Ouch.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I hear you found the other missing girl.”

  “Yes, our team did. Very disheartening.”

  Maya shook her head. “I’m happy my line of work doesn’t generally involve murder investigations, but if it were my case, I’d be treating whoever is doing this as a serial killer.”

  Brooke went white. “Serial killer?”

  “That’s my opinion. Within a week we’ve had two disappearances and two murders, all of them female Vanderbilt students, two of which were roommates. Amelia Zhou went missing last Sunday, but I heard the coroner set her time of death as Friday night.”

  “Friday night? Where was she in the meantime? And what was happening to her?” I asked, shivering.

  She shrugged. “Who knows? If it’s any kind of consolation, the only trauma the coroner found in his preliminary examination was signs of strangulation.”

  Brooke rubbed her neck absently. “That’s got to be a terrible way to go.”

  Maya continued, “And I’m afraid it spells nothing but trouble for Kira Gibson. There has to be some kind of rhyme or reason as to why these three girls in particular were chosen. If the detectives can find the link, they can find the killer.”

  My stomach rolled at the thought of Ryder going toe-to-toe with a serial killer. He was a tough cop, and he could certainly defend himself in any given situation, but all bets were off when dealing with the kind of maniac who targets and murders young women. What would stop the killer from turning his wrath on the cops who were on his trail?

  “So do you think if I slip the search coordinator some cash she’ll put me in a group with Pete?” asked Brooke, interrupting my little freak-out.

  “Oh, um…yeah. I mean, you don’t have to slip her any cash. Just ask.” I stood, too nervous now to sit any longer. “In fact, I’ll take care of it for you. I’ll go speak with Polly right now.”

  “Thanks,” Brooke replied, beaming.

  As I went to speak to Polly about Brooke’s request, my mind was elsewhere. So many things were nagging at me about the people in my life, I felt like I was losing my mind. After talking to Polly, who somehow managed to mother me more during our short discussion, I needed some air. I went out the back door and plopped down on the steps leading to the tiny employee parking area. This was a spot where I often went to clear my head, but even this place wasn’t working for me today.

  The sound of voices broke me out of my attempt at a little quiet meditation. Oddly enough, it was Ryder speaking to a woman. I hadn’t known he’d come to the coffeehouse this morning, and although I could hear his voice, I couldn’t see him anywhere. After glancing around, I noticed the window to the office was open. The voices seemed to be coming from in there. I strained to hear what they were saying.

  “I didn’t know who else to talk to,” the woman said. It sounded like Brooke.

  “You can always talk to me,” Ryder replied.

  “Normally I would never discuss treatment of a patient, but in this case I think it’s better I don’t keep this to myself.”

  This seemed like confidential hospital business, so I probably shouldn’t have been listening. But I was nosy. Plus, I didn’t feel like getting up and going back inside to the noisy, packed coffeehouse.

  She continued, “Amelia Zhou came into the ER to get treatment a week and a half ago, a few days before she went missing. I was her nurse. I thought nothing of it, even after she disappeared. Then, Kira Gibson came in with the same symptoms. I treated her on Thursday, and she went missing two days later. When I put it all together and realized there could be a connection, I went this morning after my shift was over to check the records for both girls’ visits. All the charting I’d done had vanished. There’s nothing in our computer system under either girl’s name, and no hard copies of discharge papers or paperwork of any kind to be found anywhere.”

  “You think someone’s trying to hide something or maybe cover something up?” he asked.

  “Yes, I…”

  “Hey, Juliet,” said Rhonda, bumping me in the back with the door as she opened it. “Polly wants to see you.”

  Damn it. My eavesdropping was over. And unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly ask Brooke or Ryder what they’d been talking about, because then they’d know I’d been listening in, which really wasn’t cool of me.

  Chapter 15

  Polly had our marching orders ready, so as soon as Brooke was done speaking with Ryder, our team could head out. To make sure Pete wouldn’t be blindsided by Brooke ending up in our group, I pulled him into the kitchen with me to clue him in.

  “Brooke wanted to be on Team Pete for the search this morning, so I made it happen. Is that okay with you?”

  He stared at me for a moment. “So when you said yesterday that I needed to get back out there, you meant immediately.”

  “She asked nicely. What was I going to say, no?”

  “I don’t know, Jules….”

  “It’s not like I set you up on a date with her.”

  Frowning, he said, “If this goes badly, I’m blaming you.”

  “What could go badly? You’re going to walk down a street with her and three other people. In a very non-romantic situatio
n. I don’t think it’s quite time to push the panic button yet.”

  “I’m not panicking.”

  Through the window in the kitchen door, I noticed the office door swing open. Throwing a “Yes, you are” over my shoulder at Pete, I headed that way, hoping to catch Ryder before we had to leave. As Brooke hurried on down the hallway, I snagged Ryder’s sleeve.

  “Hey, were you having a secret meeting with another woman in my office? Not cool,” I said, giving him a wink.

  Ryder grinned down at me. “Jealous?”

  Fishing a little, I said, “Oh, I’m sure it was harmless. Were you discussing something about your case?”

  “Nice try, Scooby. You know I can’t discuss that with you.”

  “So you two were talking about the case.”

  He kissed me instead of responding to my prodding. “I came over to catch you before I went to work. Will you make some time to see me tonight?”

  “I’d love to, but I hope to continue the search all day.”

  I’d received a text from Mallory earlier, breaking our plans for a drink tonight. I was frankly somewhat relieved, because I would have felt bad for having a girls’ night out on the town when there was searching to be done. She wanted to stay with her husband, Jack, who was still upset about finding Amelia Zhou this morning. I didn’t blame her. He’d taken it pretty hard.

  “You have to eat. Take a break and have dinner with me. Around six, maybe?”

  I smiled. I missed him. “Okay.”

  “I’ll pick you up here. See you soon.”

  After another quick kiss, he left, and a wave of dread washed over me as I thought about him going about his job, tracking a possible serial killer.

  —

  Another search, another strikeout.

  And speaking of strikeouts, Pete and Brooke barely spoke to each other the entire time. I even stepped in and divided us up, putting the two of them together and taking Rhonda and Maya on the opposite side of the road with me. Brooke looked utterly depressed by the time we got back to Java Jive, her lower lip alternating between jutting out and trembling. The moment Pete hit the front door, he ran for the safety of the office.

  Once he was out of earshot, Brooke wailed, “Why won’t he speak to me? He’s always been talkative and nice, but today, he completely clammed up on me. I know I’m not great at starting new conversations, but I do fine once I’m in one. Did he say anything to you?”

  Poor Brooke. This had absolutely nothing to do with her. “Brooke, I’m going to be honest. He’s hesitant about dating again at all after his previous girlfriend passed away. Trust me—it’s not you, it’s him.”

  “Oh,” she said, seeming to deflate even further before my eyes. “Um, I have to go. I’m on nights this week, so right now is my bedtime. I’m sorry we didn’t find Kira.”

  I gave her a hug. “Thanks for helping. It means a lot to me. See you soon?”

  She nodded, I assumed to keep her tears in check. I felt awful for her, because I knew exactly how it felt to be head over heels for Pete and unable to have him. I’d spent most of college in that exact state of limbo.

  I went to find Polly’s replacement, Sarah, to get our next assignment. She was sitting at a table strewn with papers, impatient people circled around her waiting for her to give them their next search area. She seemed harried, shuffling papers around on the table but never seeming to find anything. Polly, she was not. I decided to wait until she was free to try to speak with her.

  “Juliet!”

  I glanced toward the door. Lucinda Kingston-Malloy was coming in, a mildly disheveled rocker guy in tow. Surprised to see her this morning, I went over to meet them. “Hey, Lucinda. Back to help?”

  “Yes, I can’t stop thinking about that poor girl. This is my husband, Myles Malloy. Myles, this is my new friend Juliet Langley. She and I met at the tennis fundraiser yesterday.”

  “Hey,” he drawled, his voice scratchy with a touch of put-on vocal fry.

  “Hi, Myles,” I replied.

  Lucinda said, “None of the rest of my crew is back for the search this morning, so might we tag along with you? Is your same team still together today?”

  “Pete and I are still together, and a couple of others joined our group, but we definitely have room for you two. I’ll speak to the coordinator.”

  “That would be great, wouldn’t it, Myles?”

  Myles grunted his agreement.

  Sarah’s gaggle of eager searchers had dwindled, so I was able to introduce myself to her after waiting only a few minutes.

  “Hi, Sarah. I’m Juliet Langley.”

  Her frazzled expression changed into a sweet smile. “Juliet! I’ve heard great things about you from Polly and Detective Stafford. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Thank you. Same here. Thanks for holding down the fort here at Java Jive while the rest of the staff and I continue searching. What’s on tap next for my team?”

  She flipped through her papers, finally plucking out the one she was looking for with a flourish. “You all will be searching Love Park and the surrounding area, including Love Circle and the bigger circle made by Acklen, Orleans, and Thirty-Second. Per Detective Stafford, we’re going to hit all the parks in the area hard, especially the wooded ones.”

  I shuddered inwardly at the thought of having to explore any more parks. Luckily, Love Park was not exactly a park—it was more of a grassy knoll with a stellar view of the downtown skyline. However, the area around it was fairly densely wooded in places, with unkempt underbrush right next to the road, perfect in my mind for a drive-by body dump.

  “Okay. And one of our team members, Brooke Nussbaum, had to leave, but I have two more to take her place. Lucinda and Myles Malloy.”

  Sarah made a note on one of the many Post-its adorning her scattered papers. “That will work great. Thanks.”

  I went to find Pete to let him know about our next assignment. He was in the kitchen, rummaging around in the refrigerator.

  “Looking for something?” I asked.

  He jumped, clutching his chest. “Damn it, Jules. You scared me.”

  “You’re awfully jumpy.”

  He ignored me and continued his hunt.

  “Can I help you find anything? Your mojo, perhaps?”

  Pete slammed the door and glared at me. “You don’t know how hard that was for me, so don’t judge.”

  “I’m not judging. I’m merely pointing out the fact that you came unglued over talking to a woman. You put unnecessary stress on a very simple situation.”

  “Quit meddling, Juliet!”

  I put my hands on my hips. “You know that’s not going to happen.”

  His eyes became strained and glassy. “I just…I can’t handle getting hurt again.”

  I slowly blew out a breath as I regarded him. “This isn’t all about Cecilia dying, is it?” I didn’t know why I hadn’t figured out before now what was really bothering Pete. Kicking myself for being so dense, I went over to him and gently took his hands.

  “Does it make me a jerk if I say no?”

  “Of course not. It makes you human.”

  Hanging his head, he whispered, “What about if I admit that I’m angry, too?”

  My throat got tight at his painful admission. I swallowed and said, “I’d be mad as hell. Anger is a totally normal reaction.”

  Dropping my hands, he turned his back and walked a few paces away from me. “Is it? How is it acceptable for me to be furious at a dead woman?”

  There was no love lost between Cecilia and me, so I hoped what I was about to say didn’t come off catty. “She isn’t a saint just because she’s dead. She cheated on you and broke your heart. What she did was incredibly selfish.”

  Pete wheeled around to stare at me. “Is this you, my friend, talking? Or you, Cecilia’s nemesis?”

  So maybe it sounded a smidge catty. “Your friend. I don’t want you to be depressed forever because you’re feeling mixed emotions and can’t find a way to get closure on
any of it.”

  He replied bitterly, “It’s my own fault we never worked it out. Our last conversation was an epic argument, and I’m the one who walked away.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head adamantly. “I won’t let you take even a bit of the blame. This is all on her.”

  “It takes two to have an argument.”

  I walked over to him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Pete, you are the kindest man I know. Cecilia took advantage of that and broke your trust in the worst way. It’s okay that you got angry that night. It’s okay that you’re still angry. You don’t always have to be Mr. Nice Guy, you know.”

  He nodded and wiped at his eyes.

  I put my arms around him and held him tight. “And I’m so sorry I didn’t realize what your real problem was. You’d think your best friend would be a little more in tune.”

  He sniffed. “Well, it’s not like I would ever talk to you about it.”

  “You’re a dude. I never expected you to talk about your feelings.”

  “Yeah, but I still shouldn’t have been taking my issues out on you for the past few months. Forgive me?”

  “Of course I do. Always.”

  Taking a step back from me, he said, “Me getting all girly isn’t going to help us find Kira. Let’s go.”

  —

  Maya drove us over to Love Park in her SUV, which had plenty of room for all six of us. When we got there, Pete divided us unevenly, having Maya and Rhonda take a quick spin around the small park while he, Lucinda, Myles, and I beat through the brush on the opposite side of the road. We’d removed the heads from a few mops at Java Jive, bringing the handles with us to aid in pushing the foliage aside for a better view.

  As we picked our way through the dense underbrush on the side of the road, Lucinda said, “It must have been awful finding that girl last night. How are the two of you holding up?”

  “Not bad, considering,” Pete said.

  “I’ve been better,” I replied.

  “You look like you’ve lost sleep, Juliet,” Lucinda said.

  I let out a bark of laughter. “Only about a week’s worth.”

  “That’s not acceptable. You know I run a sleep clinic, right?”