A Juicy Murder

by Eryn Scott

  Hadley chuckled. “And what am I’m going to do about it?”

  “If she sees you there with me, she’ll back off.” He shrugged.

  Because she’ll assume we’re together, Hadley realized, and a tingle danced up her spine. She had to admit, she didn’t hate the idea of pretending to be with Luke for someone else’s sake. If she didn’t have the guts to make a move in real life, maybe this was as good as she would get.

  “If she’s so interested, you could use that to get some information out of her,” Hadley said instead.

  Luke shook his head. “She was the reason he had to close down the gym because she called in sick, and he didn’t want to cancel his session with his trainer. She wasn’t anywhere near the gym on Friday.”

  “Okay.” Hadley bit her lip. “I’ll go with you.”

  Luke’s face split into a grin. “Thanks, Had. Now, since you’re helping both of us, how can we help you?”

  Hadley put her hands on her hips. “Well, Suze and I have an appointment with Owen in a few, but let’s meet here at ten tonight, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Go break the law from there,” Suze clarified.

  But Hadley didn’t let Suze’s pessimism stop her from planning. She had a feeling about Simone and Guy. And she hoped they would find the information they needed to prove her correct tonight.

  12

  After saying their see you laters to a limping Luke, the women left the jam kitchen and walked down to the river.

  River’s Edge apartments sat along the banks of the Cascade River toward the far end of town. The fact that Laney had driven into town the other day reminded Hadley what a long walk it was, but she didn’t mind. The rushing sound of the river wrapped around her and made her feel whole for the first time that day.

  They walked in silence for a while, letting their shoes crunch along the pathway and listening to the birds sing various songs from the cover of the surrounding trees.

  “How’s the cat doing?” Suze asked after a few minutes.

  Hadley smiled. “She’s great. Like the third wheel the other two never realized they needed. And it’s not only her coloring that’s the perfect mix of the two. She’s older than Marmalade, but she’s younger than Ansel, so she’s right in between them. She and Ansel have become napping buddies, and she and Marmalade play together. Ansel’s grateful because Marmalade has stopped sneak attacking him in the morning when he’s getting down off the bed.”

  “What do you think you’ll do about her? It sounds like you’d keep her if you could.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it. I want to wait for sure until we find out whether Laney had any family who might want her. You know, I don’t want to get my hopes up.” Hadley shrugged one shoulder. “I thought having three cats would be too many, but it feels right.”

  Suze nodded. “That’s great.” She was silent for a moment before asking, “Anything else feeling right?”

  Hadley caught Suze watching her out of the corner of her eye. She laughed.

  “You’re incorrigible,” Hadley said.

  “I’m sorry.” Suze winced and turned her attention down to her feet. “I don’t mean to push things with you and Luke, but you can talk to me if you need to.”

  “Thanks,” Hadley said. “He came over the other night, after the town meeting. It felt so natural and nice. But then I got to worrying about how that might be because we’re good friends. We’ve been friends our whole lives. Trying to change things now might be disastrous.”

  “But the fact that it might not be is driving you mad.”

  “Yup.” Hadley groaned.

  “I hear you, sister.” Suze tipped an imaginary drink toward Hadley.

  And as much as Hadley loved having someone who understood what she was going through, wholeheartedly, she hoped her story turned out as happy as Suze’s had. The defeatist part of her worried that kind of ending only happened a small fraction of the time, and maybe Suze and Paul had been lucky.

  River’s Edge apartments slowly came into view as they continued to walk. The cedar-shake siding and green trim made the building blend in with the surrounding trees. That, plus it was set back from the end of Main Street on a private road, so no one went there unless they lived there—or were lost.

  It would be a great place to hide out in plain sight.

  They hiked up the small incline to the bottom rightmost apartment, where a wooden plaque above apartment 1A announced that it was where the manager lived. Suze knocked on the door and then threaded her arm through Hadley’s as she stood back to wait.

  Footsteps thumped, announcing the man’s approach moments before the front door opened and revealed Owen Hansen.

  “Miss Till, glad to have you back. And with company!”

  He was in his sixties, and while age had stooped his posture and widened his waistline, the man was still bulky and formidable. And his hands looked strong enough to strangle a waif like Laney, Hadley thought. Though, as Paul mentioned, Owen’s hands seemed too big to be considered medium or average sized.

  “This one ran away earlier.” Owen laughed, gesturing toward Suzanne with his large hands. “Wondered if she was coming back.”

  Suze elbowed Hadley in the side.

  She jumped. “Oh, uh—yeah. Sorry, that was my fault. I had a jam emergency and needed her help. We’re all good now.”

  “These things happen, I’m told.” He chuckled in a raspy way that sounded more cough than laugh. “Come in for a minute while I find the key to that apartment you want to see.”

  He stepped back but left the door open and disappeared into the apartment. Suze and Hadley glanced at each other before stepping forward warily. The place was tidy and didn’t smell particularly bad, but there was an odd feeling sitting heavy in the space.

  Knowing his internet history had been worthy of blackmail sent a shiver up Hadley’s spine.

  He came out from the kitchen holding a key. “Here we are. Let’s go up and see it.”

  Suze cleared her throat, and from the tightness behind the gesture, Hadley could tell she was feeing just as uncomfortable. It was a good thing they were in this together.

  As they exited Owen’s apartment and made their way up the stairs to the second floor of units, Hadley spotted Coach Wilson pull up in his truck. Her breath caught in her throat. It had been his apartment Owen had allegedly been working in during Laney’s murder. Hadley sent an apologetic grimace toward Suze.

  “I’ll meet you two up there. It looks like the coach could use a hand with those groceries.” She stopped, slowly turning back the way she’d come, but not before catching the pale wide-eyed and worried expression on her friend’s face.

  Hadley nodded in encouragement. Suze would be fine; she would be right back. Right after she got some information out of the high school football coach.

  Hadley jogged the rest of the way down the stairs, arriving at the truck as the coach wrestled the last few bags from his truck bed.

  “Hey, Coach,” Hadley called out in greeting. “Let me help you with some of those.” She held out her arms.

  The coach’s face, having been twisted in frustration, softened. “Oh, thank you, Miss James.” He handed over a few of the bags. “Living on the second floor means I hate taking two trips, so I end up loading myself up with too many bags trying to make it in one.” He laughed.

  “I’m the same way,” Hadley said. “And I don’t even have to go up stairs like you do.”

  He gestured for her to follow him. She’d always appreciated the way Coach Wilson defied macho football-coach stereotypes. He’d even let girls try out and play for the team, much to the frustration of the Cascade Ridge football coaches. Letting Hadley help him carry groceries without pause was yet another example of the man’s open-mindedness.

  “You here visiting someone?” he asked, pausing outside his door so he could fish his keys out of his pocket.

  “Not really. Suze is touring an apartment, and I’m here for moral support. She�
�s gotta do some work on her house and needs to stay somewhere during the reno. You like it here?”

  Coach chuckled. “Can’t complain.” He led the way into his place.

  Unlike Owen’s apartment, the coach’s felt warm and inviting. He had an amazing view of the river and a great patio. She knew his kids were all grown and off living on their own, and his wife had passed a few years ago, so it was just him. Football memorabilia was everywhere, from the walls to the shelves and even on the back of the cozy sofa.

  Hadley set the bags on the counter where he’d set his and tugged her shoulders up in the comfort of it all.

  The coach’s kind face—his dark skin wrinkled after so many summers and falls spent on the field with his team—turned to Hadley. “I was sorry to hear about you and Tyler not working out. He was a great quarterback, but not so great at commitment.” Coach’s deep-brown eyes caught hers.

  Speechless for a moment, Hadley opened her mouth but closed it again. She hadn’t told many people about the reason for her divorce, so there was no way Coach should know Tyler hadn’t been faithful to her.

  Except that it seemed he did.

  She dipped her head once in agreement.

  “Not like that Fenton kid, my best wide receiver to this day.” Coach winked. “That guy would do whatever it took to be where Tyler needed him to catch that ball. Seemed to defy physics sometimes.” He shook his head in reminiscence, before locking eyes with Hadley again. “That’s the kind of person who will always be there for you, no matter what. Cut off his own leg if you needed one, especially for you, Hadley.”

  She swallowed, picking at something nonexistent on her nail. “I—uh—Luke’s a good friend.” She pulled her lips up into a smile.

  Coach narrowed one eye at her. “I’ve never been one to mince words, Miss James. So I’m going to come out and say it. That boy’s loved you forever, since the two of you were little rascals running up and down the banks of that river out there.” He pointed out his window at the white-capped water rushing by. “And I’m not one to lecture about moving on. Goodness knows I’m content living here on my own with my memories of my Grace. But you and Luke have something special. I’d hate to see you miss out on that because you’re scared of what might go wrong. We can’t live our lives only preparing for the worst.”

  Hadley’s face wrinkled in discomfort. The man had somehow hit on everything she’d been feeling. “Except, I’ve lived through the aftermath of everything going wrong, and it wasn’t pleasant,” she said quietly.

  “But you lived through it.” He raised an eyebrow. “And I would argue that it’s made you even stronger than you were before. Who’s to say you couldn’t make it through that again if things don’t work out?”

  Hadley exhaled a small laugh. The man had a point, and it seemed his advice was still just as good in retirement. “True.” Her eyes met his, and she nodded to show him she heard him, loud and clear.

  His friendly eyes crinkled around the edges. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Well, thank you for the assist with those groceries.”

  “Anytime. I should get back to Suze. She was having a hard time deciding, which is why I came with her, and here I’ve abandoned her.” Hadley watched the older man for a moment, making a plan to get any last information. “How’s the maintenance here? I know that’s one thing Suze hates dealing with, so she would need a place where the management is quick about getting back about problems.”

  The coach scratched his chin. “I just had a leaky faucet, reported it in the morning, and Owen was in here that afternoon fixing it.”

  “Was this on Friday?” Hadley asked, knowing immediately that she’d gone too far. She inwardly grimaced, figuring this would make the coach shut down.

  His face tightened for a moment. “Yeah … it was Friday. Why?”

  “Oh, Owen was talking about that with Suze, and I figured it must’ve been the same faucet, unless a lot of them break around here.” She laughed uncomfortably.

  But luckily her explanation worked for Coach because he smiled in return. “He’s pretty handy too. Only needed one trip to the hardware store to fix it. Usually takes me three visits to get the right parts.”

  Hadley froze. Trip to the hardware store? That meant Owen had left the apartment during his alibi. And the hardware store was just minutes away from the juice bar downtown. Knowing her thoughts would be written all over her face in a few seconds, if they weren’t already, Hadley nodded. “Even three times is great. Whenever I’m doing a project, I feel like I should move in to the hardware store. Well, I’d better get going. It was great to see you, Coach.”

  He held his hand up in a wave as she left. Outside, she scanned the line of apartment doors. All closed. Frustrated with herself that she hadn’t figured out which one Owen was showing Suze, she pulled out her phone and called her friend.

  “Hey,” Suze answered in a muffled whisper. “Where are you?” Her tone was tight, worried.

  Hadley realized that, with the new information she’d just learned from Coach Wilson, she could’ve left Suze with the strangler.

  “I’m coming, but I don’t know which apartment you guys are in.”

  “2C,” Suze whispered.

  “Coming.” Hadley hung up then spotted the apartment to her right.

  They’d left the door unlocked, so she headed inside. Suze was standing behind a stool situated next to the tall kitchen counter, holding on to the chair as if it were a shield. Owen was pointing out the view through the sliding glass door leading out onto a patio similar to Coach Wilson’s.

  Hadley strode forward. “Hey, sorry, I got held up a little.”

  Suze’s posture relaxed when she saw Hadley. She cut her eyes over toward Owen.

  All Hadley could focus on were his hands.

  “Uh, so sorry, Owen, but there’s been another jam emergency. I have to take her and run.” Hadley grabbed at Suze’s arm, pulling her away.

  “Okay, let me know what you decide, Suzanne,” Owen called after them, but they were already at the apartment door.

  “Another jam emergency?” Suze said. “That’s the last time we can use that excuse.”

  Hadley agreed. “I didn’t know what else to say. I had to get you out of there. Owen’s alibi isn’t airtight. He left to go to the hardware store.”

  Suze sucked in a sharp breath. “We need to talk to Paul.”

  13

  After stopping by to give the latest intel to Paul, Suze and Hadley split up. Hadley needed to go home and check on the cats before their juice bar reconnaissance later, and Suze was forcing Paul to take a break and have dinner.

  Hadley made herself something to eat, and after she and the cats finished dinner, they all curled up on the couch with an episode of a baking show.

  When the sun set and darkness covered the valley, Hadley had a tough time peeling herself from her comfortable home to meet Luke and Suze at the jam shop. But her curiosity about the envelope she saw earlier gave her the motivation to get moving.

  The alley behind the jam shop was quiet and deserted as Hadley pulled her hatchback into its normal space next to the Jam Van. She got out of the car and leaned up against the back door to the kitchen, not wanting to go inside or turn on any lights lest they bring attention to their presence downtown so late.

  “Don’t freak out.” A voice came from the darkness.

  Hadley jumped, swallowing a squeal. Her now adjusted eyes caught movement to her left. Luke pulled off a black beanie, and his wheat-colored locks bounced bright in the moonlight. Besides the beanie, he wore a black long-sleeve shirt and black athletic pants.

  “You didn’t see me when you pulled up, and I was standing there trying to think of a way not to scare you.” He chuckled, his voice somehow deeper in the dark alley.

  Hadley swallowed, Coach’s words from earlier still ringing in her ears. That boy’s loved you forever.

  “No worries.” She looked down at her jeans and dark zip-up hoodie. “I didn’t even think about
wearing black. You’re smart. You blend in.”

  “Your hair is dark, though.” He reached forward, tucking a piece behind her ear. “Mine stands out too much in the dark.”

  Her heartbeat quickened. Her eyes flashed up to meet his. “Luke—”

  His name was cut off by Suze’s sporty baby-blue mini pulling into the alley next to Hadley’s car. Her headlights illuminated Hadley and Luke as if they were in a spotlight. Hadley ducked her head and stepped away from Luke.

  Suze’s expression was both suspicious and gleeful as she stepped out of the car. “Hey, you two …” Her voice rose a little with each word.

  “Hi,” Hadley blurted, brushing nothing off the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” Suze patted the laptop case she held at her side, in case they encountered the USB. She was also wearing all black, and Hadley wondered how she’d missed the memo about tonight’s attire.

  Luke came up to stand next to Hadley, pulling his hat on to cover his hair again. “Let’s do this.” He smiled too.

  Hadley didn’t. All she could think about was how Luke smelled like fresh air and sandalwood, and how he was standing so very close to her.

  Led by Hadley—who may or may not have been running from her feelings for Luke—the three scurried through the alley that ran behind the buildings along Main Street. The shops were all deserted at this time of night, but you never knew when someone would work late. Coming up to the backside of the juice bar, the trio crouched low and let their breathing settle.

  “Okay, so Suze will stay out here on watch. Luke, you’ll get me inside, and then I’ll let you in from the back door. You sure she doesn’t have a security system setup?” Hadley chewed on her bottom lip and glanced at the back door of Power Juice.

  Luke nodded. “The only local person who might be able to install anything like that is me, and I haven’t. So”—he shrugged—“we’re good.”