Poppy Harmon and the Hung Jury

by Lee Hollis

  “There are a lot of players out there, Lara. You have to be careful,” Rod said, turning away from Matt, comforting her.

  Poppy assumed Rod could no longer look at Matt because he knew he was choosing to believe his daughter’s lies over the truth and just found it difficult to face him. Rod held his daughter and gently stroked her hair.

  Matt took a step forward to defend himself, but Poppy reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. She signaled him to remain mum.

  “Why can’t I find a decent boyfriend?” Lara wailed.

  “You will, I promise,” Rod said reassuringly. “Remember what I told you when you were a little girl—you’ll come across a lot of frogs before you meet the right prince.”

  Poppy wanted to gag at Rod’s sexist remark. As if the end goal was finding a prince. In her opinion, Rod needed to catch up on a few decades.

  “Thanks for calling me, Poppy,” Rod said with a tight smile as he led Lara out. Matt dashed ahead of them to open the door, mostly to ensure they were actually going to leave, and as Rod passed him, Poppy heard him say under his breath, “Stay away from my daughter.”

  After they were out the door, Matt slammed it shut and turned to Poppy. “What the hell was that?”

  “Be grateful he managed to get her out of here,” Poppy said, relieved.

  “But now her father thinks I’m a grade A sleazeball who uses women and then tosses them aside!” Matt cried.

  “I’ll set him straight, don’t you worry,” Poppy said emphatically.

  “The girl does nothing but lie! One lie after another!”

  “It does seem to be her favorite hobby. But at least it is over now. Hopefully, she won’t be bothering you anymore.”

  “I still don’t know how she got it into her head that I liked her! I was just being polite at her father’s house the other day! I was never for one minute remotely interested in dating her or anything like that!”

  “Matt, calm down. She met you and got a crush on you. It’s perfectly understandable. You are super handsome with a buoyant personality. Any girl would fall for you. Look at Heather. . . .”

  Matt checked his phone for the time again. “She’s late.”

  His phone buzzed.

  Matt’s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.

  “Is that Heather texting you?” Poppy asked.

  Matt shook his head and looked up at Poppy, worried. “It’s Lara.”

  “What? How did she get your number?”

  “I gave it to Rod when he was a client. I told him to call me day or night if he had any questions or concerns about the case. Lara must have somehow gotten it from him.”

  “What did she say?”

  Matt stared at his phone, reading in a monotone voice, “ ‘Stop playing hard to get. I know how you feel about me. Text me tomorrow. Good night. I love you.’ ”

  “You need to change your number first thing tomorrow,” Poppy warned.

  Matt nodded. “I will.”

  The doorbell rang again. But instead of waiting for Matt to open the door, Heather breezed in, looking very alluring in a casual slimming fringe dress, her hair styled and her face made up. “Sorry I’m late. They asked me to work a double shift. I guess I’m doing okay in my first week.”

  She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Poppy. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

  “Leaving. I just dropped by to discuss some business with Matt.”

  Heather seemed to buy it. She broke out into a smile. “Well, as long as you’re here, why don’t you stay and join us?”

  “Yes,” Matt chimed in. “Stay for dinner.”

  “I wouldn’t hear of it. I don’t want to make a habit out of being a third wheel. You two enjoy some private time,” Poppy said as she headed to the door.

  “You know, it’s funny,” Heather said, calling after her mother. “I swear I passed Rod Harper driving down the street as I was coming here. You know, I just remember him from TV but he looked exactly the same as he did on your show.”

  “Maybe he knows people around here,” Poppy said, almost too quickly.

  “Maybe,” Heather said, turning to give Matt a kiss on the cheek.

  There was a buzz from Matt’s cell phone, which he had dumped in his back pocket. They all three stood there in silence. The phone buzzed again.

  “Someone’s texting you,” Heather commented as she bounded toward the kitchen. “The garlic bread smells yummy!”

  Matt’s face drained of color. He was afraid to reach around and pull the phone out of his back pocket because he really didn’t want to see who was so frantically sending him text after text at the moment because frankly he already knew.

  Poppy gave him a sympathetic look before turning and walking out the door, silently hoping that Matt wouldn’t have to move as well since his stalker, in addition to knowing his cell phone number, now also knew where he lived.

  Chapter 40

  Matt flashed his megawatt smile and the hostess at the Sun diner practically melted. She had to grip the rickety stand with her seating chart because her knees were about to buckle. Poppy marveled at how easily Matt could turn on his charm and win over even the most hardened, seen it all, unimpressed people, mostly women, of course. This particular woman, short, stout, with red hair and freckles, was smitten from the moment she looked up as Matt breezed through the door. Before she even had a chance to speak, he had complimented her haircut and the butterfly pin attached to her yellow blouse.

  Poppy purposefully held back, not wanting to encroach on Matt’s impressive skills to get her to open up and talk. But the hostess, who looked as if she was praying that the woman hovering behind Matt wasn’t his much older girlfriend, asked tentatively, “Table for two?”

  “We can’t stay although I hear your chicken and dumplings are out of this world,” Matt said, licking his lips.

  “Best in the valley,” the hostess boasted.

  “I’m Matt,” he said with a wink, holding out his hand.

  She eagerly took it, anxious to feel his touch, and couldn’t help but giggle as she shook it and held on to it longer than normal. “Madge. How can I help you?”

  Matt reached into his pocket and retrieved a paper slip and handed it over to Madge, who studied it. Violet had found it in the trash can at Alden Kenny’s house and had added it to the other files and paperwork they had been poring over. They were now just getting around to following up on it. It was a credit card receipt from the Sun Diner, this very establishment. The meal had been charged to Alden’s credit card, and the date and time were stamped on it. The same day he had been murdered, just a few hours before Poppy had stumbled across his dead body in the pool. And judging from the number of items that he had ordered, it was obvious Alden had not dined alone.

  Matt circled around the hostess station and sidled up next to Madge, who eyed him hungrily and nearly quivered as their shoulders touched. He pointed to the name on the receipt. “Do you happen to know him?”

  “Alden Kenny,” she said, thinking hard, not wanting to disappoint this drop-dead-gorgeous man whose big hand was now resting lightly on her right shoulder. “I believe so. Young man, moved out here from Texas not too long ago.”

  “Yes, that’s him!”

  “I remember him because he was always very chatty and had an unusual name. Alden. It stood out to me. He came in here just about every day for lunch. I think he had a window-washing business, or something like that.”

  “Carpet cleaning,” Poppy corrected her.

  Madge didn’t seem to care what Poppy had to say. She kept her eyes on Matt. “He had a partner, Asian dude, who always ordered the club sandwich and a Diet Coke, every day, never anything else.”

  “Jay,” Matt said helpfully.

  Madge shrugged. “He never introduced himself so I didn’t know his name. Alden was much friendlier, made a point of getting to know me and the other waitresses.”

  It made sense to Poppy. The waitresses at the Sun Diner were all too young for J
ay Takamura to be interested in them.

  Matt stepped away from her, and Madge shrunk a bit, disappointed. But it allowed him to make eye contact with her, and draw her in again. “Tell me, Madge, was Alden here with Jay on this day . . . ?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t know—he was here all the time so it’s hard to remember this particular day. . . .”

  Matt leaned in. “It would mean a lot. . . .”

  Madge was on a mission now. She could not possibly let this stunning man down. She plucked the receipt out of his hand and studied it some more. “It was a Thursday.” She glanced over at the specials board. “Lemon pepper rainbow trout. Let me think. . . .”

  Matt let her work through her thoughts. She suddenly looked up with a big grin on her face. “No, he wasn’t with Jay. He was with some blonde. I remember now because she ordered the special.”

  Matt looked at the piece of paper. “Why isn’t the fish special on the receipt?”

  “Because she sent it back. She didn’t like it. She was rude about it, too. Rosie, who waited on them, offered to bring her something else, but she said no. Alden liked his meatloaf and made a point of telling Rosie, mostly because he was embarrassed his girlfriend was being such a problem. They did order two desserts, though, two cheesecakes, and I remember seeing her scarf that down with no problem.”

  “So you think she was his girlfriend?” Poppy asked.

  Madge looked right through Poppy, annoyed that she had to tear her eyes off Matt even for a moment to take the time to speak to her. “She was here with him maybe two or three times, tops. We just assumed they were dating. But nobody here could see them as a couple.”

  “Why not?” Matt asked.

  Madge was relieved she could focus her attention back on Matt. “Because they didn’t look like they belonged together. She was very statuesque, if that’s the right word, and rather intimidating and bossy, and he was, well, he was just . . . Alden. A cute kid, kind of sweet. They made a very odd couple, if that’s what they were.”

  “When they were here, did you hear Alden call her by name?” Matt asked.

  Madge pouted, devastated that she couldn’t be more helpful to Matt. “No, never, I’m so sorry.”

  “You’ve been a major help. Thank you, Madge. We have to go, but I’m coming back here for your chicken and dumplings!”

  “I will serve you myself. Anything your heart desires,” Madge promised.

  “You’re too good to me, Madge,” Matt said with a wink.

  “Come back anytime. You’ll see how good I can be!”

  Poppy nearly gagged but held her tongue, and followed Matt as he blew a kiss to his new admirer on his way out the door.

  Outside the diner, Matt spun back around, startling Poppy. “So who do you think this mystery woman could be?”

  “I have no idea, but according to Alden’s business partner, Jay, they were close friends, so I’m sure he would know if his buddy was seeing someone.”

  “Where do we find him?”

  Poppy checked the time on her phone. “It’s too early for the casino so let’s start with his carpet-cleaning business.”

  Matt hopped in the passenger side of Poppy’s car as Poppy climbed behind the wheel. Using the Google Maps app on her phone, she drove them straight to the office location of Fresh Scrub Carpet Cleaners in Rancho Mirage. The company was located in an industrial park neighborhood in a nondescript building that housed various businesses selling kitchen supplies, picture framing and art supplies, and lamps. Fresh Scrub was on the far end and a van was parked out front. No sooner had they pulled into the drive when they saw Jay Takamura carry some equipment out the door and load it into the back of the van. Poppy pulled right up next to it. He didn’t hear them because he was bopping his head to and fro to some music he was listening to through a pair of earbuds.

  Matt marched foward, but Poppy hung back by the car since Jay might recognize her from when he came to steam clean Iris’s carpets.

  Matt yelled, “Mr. Takamura?!”

  Jay didn’t hear him as he wrestled with some tubes from his carpet-cleaning machine so Matt tried again. “Mr. Takamura?!”

  Still no answer. Finally, Matt tapped Jay on the shoulder. He jumped and whirled around, hands raised in the air to defend himself. “What? What do you want?”

  Matt always loved this part. He flashed his badge. “Matt Flowers, private investigator.”

  Jay studied the badge with a frown. Unlike Madge at the Sun Diner, Matt’s charms were completely lost on him. “What do you want?”

  “I have a few questions about your former business partner Alden Kenny,” Matt said, mustering up as much authority in his voice as he could.

  “Private detective? Who are you working for?” Jay asked warily.

  “I’d rather not say,” Matt said.

  “Then I’d rather not answer your questions. I have a job and I’m running late,” Jay snapped, turning his back on Matt and continuing to stuff his bulky equipment in the back of his van.

  Jay was a far cry from the exuberant eager to please carpet cleaner who had shown up at Iris’s house. He seemed to have a lot on his mind now. Poppy couldn’t remain in the background any longer. She suddenly stepped forward, pushing Matt aside. “Please, Jay, we’re just trying to find out who wanted to harm Alden. He was your best friend. Don’t you want to know, too?”

  Jay slowly turned back around. He stared at Poppy for a long moment. “Wait, I know you. Aren’t you from Duluth?”

  Matt glanced at Poppy, confused.

  Poppy nodded. “Yes, at least that’s what I told you. Iris’s sister who was visiting from Minnesota. But my real name is Poppy Harmon and Matt and I work together at the Desert Flowers Detective Agency.”

  Jay’s face fell. “And Iris . . . ?”

  “Yes, she works with us, too,” Poppy said with a nod.

  “So that whole job, cleaning Iris’s carpets, was just a ruse to get me to answer questions?”

  “I’m sorry,” Poppy said quietly. “Sometimes it’s easier getting people to talk when they don’t know they’re speaking to an investigator.” She decided not to divulge that his gambling buddy, Violet, at the Spa Resort Casino was also part of the team. Why reveal what she didn’t have to?

  “Then apparently I’ve told you all I know already,” Jay huffed. “We’re done here.”

  “That was before we found out about the fifty thousand dollars you withdrew from Alden’s account,” Poppy said loudly.

  Jay froze, then spun back around and whispered urgently, “How did you know about that?”

  “Did we not mention we are private investigators?” Matt said, folding his arms, happy to be back in the conversation. “That’s what we do. We investigate.”

  “Where did it come from, Jay?” Poppy asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jay said as he turned and slammed the back doors of the van shut and walked around to the driver’s side.

  Poppy and Matt exchanged a quick look, then followed after him, stopping him before he could climb in and try to speed off.

  “You don’t have to tell us, but I happen to be good friends with a Detective Lamar Jordan, who is also looking into Alden’s murder. Maybe he’s already questioned you. I’m sure he would be happy to show up at whatever house you’re working at and ask you in front of your customers,” Poppy said, adopting a threatening tone.

  Jay sighed. “I told you, I don’t know. The money just appeared in the account. I tried finding out where it came from, but the LLC was a shell company. There wasn’t a lot of information. I figured it belonged to Alden given some of the stuff he used to be involved in. But he got killed before I had the chance to ask him about it. Since he was gone, and I had no way of finding out what it was for, I just withdrew it and didn’t ask any questions.”

  Poppy and Matt stared at him, trying to gauge his honesty.

  “Come on, you would’ve done the same thing,” Jay cried. “I did nothing wrong! It was a joint account! So whatever’s in
there rightfully belongs to me, too!”

  “Who’s to say you didn’t discover the money earlier? Maybe when you saw how much it was you decided to drown your partner in the pool so you could have all that cash to pay off your gambling debts!” Matt shouted accusingly.

  Jay stumbled back. “How did you know—?”

  “Are you deaf? Investigators!” Matt sneered.

  “Okay, I have some gambling issues, but I did not kill Alden, okay? He was my friend, my business partner, we had a good thing going. Why would I jeopardize that? I miss him every day!” He began to tear up.

  Poppy was inclined to believe him, especially since he had also appeared to be genuinely grieving for his friend when she and Iris had first met him at Iris’s house.

  “What about his girlfriend?” Matt suddenly asked.

  Jay blinked and wiped the tears away with his shirt sleeve. “What about her?”

  Poppy glanced at Matt and then back at Jay. “So you knew Alden was seeing someone?”

  Jay nodded. “Yeah, not for very long. But he really liked her.”

  Matt took a step forward. “You got a name?”

  “Tammy,” Jay answered. “I don’t remember her last name.”

  “Do you know how they met?” Matt asked.

  Jay shrugged. “Nope. Just that they had to see each other on the down low because Tammy sported a fancy diamond ring on her finger, if you get my drift.”

  “She was married,” Poppy said.

  Jay nodded.

  “How long was this Tammy together with Alden?” Matt asked.

  Jay shrugged again. “Not long. A couple of weeks, maybe. Look, if I don’t get to this job, I’m going to lose it, and there’s not a lot of that fifty K left, so if you’ve got any more questions, you’re going to have to come back later.”

  “No more questions,” Poppy said.

  Jay started to climb into the van but stopped halfway and looked back. “This Detective Jordan you mentioned, are you going to rat me out about the fifty grand because it’s pretty much gone already.”