by A. L. Jambor
Mel felt her body shaking. “This pisses me off so much.”
“What? That they planned it?”
“That she, shit. If she needed help, why didn’t she call us? She and my grandmother were getting along. We could have done something for her.”
“She didn’t want to bother you. You live a thousand miles away. It might have seemed like an easy solution to her. And the kid might have been a con artist like his old man, only sober and charming.”
It was getting dark. It was also dinnertime, and Conner’s stomach was growling.
“You want to get something to eat?
Mel called Vera and told her she would be home by nine. Vera told her she would wait up. Conner took her to Chili’s.
Chili’s was decorated for the holidays, too. Mel tried to ignore them as the hostess sat them in a booth by the bar. After they ordered, Conner looked at Mel.
“So what do you do in New Jersey?”
“I manage a Starbucks. My supervisor made me take a vacation.”
“They made you take a vacation?”
“Yeah. I guess three years is a long time to go without some time off. It’s hard to take time off in that business.”
“So this is your vacation.”
“Yup, and I hadn’t planned on coming here. My grandmother paid for my ticket.”
“She’s Audrey’s sister?”
“Yes. I call her Nana Grace because she’s my great-grandmother.”
“It was nice of her to pay your fare here.”
“She did it because she wanted me to check on Audrey.” The server brought their drinks. “The truth is, I didn’t have any plans, so when she asked me to do this, I thought, what the hell?”
“And your friend is staying down here.”
“Lisa. Yes. Her dad owns a time share on Clearwater Beach. She asks me every year. This is the first time I’ve come close.”
“Do you live alone?” he asked.
“Right now, yes.”
“So do I.”
Their food came and they ate in silence for a while. Mel studied Conner’s face. His eyes were set apart by a perfectly shaped nose. He looked like one of those models in GQ.
“Why did you become a cop?” she asked. “You don’t look like one.”
“I always wanted to be one. I like putting the bad guys in jail.”
“What if they aren’t guilty?”
“That’s what the system is for. The state attorney’s office.”
“I hope you can get this guy.”
“That’s why I’m taking my time.”
They both ate too much and left the restaurant. He drove her back to her car.
“I have to work tomorrow,” he said. “I can check out Jason Frye Sr. in the computer. Maybe I can talk to the investigating officer.”
“You still don’t have enough to take this to your supervisor, do you?”
“If the kid had killed the old man, or if we suspected he had, maybe. That’s why I have to talk to the cops who did the invest.”
“I’m gonna try to see my friend again tomorrow, but I’ll have my phone with me.”
“If I find out anything, I’ll call.”
He watched her get out of the car and into hers. She looked sad. He wanted to help her. He wanted to find out what had happened to her aunt, but he still didn’t believe the outcome would be good.
Chapter 11
Mel woke up with the cat on her head. He was purring and kneading her. She pushed him off and turned over onto her back. Vera wasn’t up yet, but the sun was shining in the front window. Mel’s phone was charging on the table next to the sofa. She reached for it, disconnected it, and turned it on. It was seven.
There was a message from Lisa and one from her grandmother. She listened to them. Lisa was sorry, but she had met a hot guy and had been distracted. She promised it wouldn’t happen again if Mel wanted to come to the beach. Her grandmother said she would be home if Mel needed to call.
Mel didn’t feel like going to the beach. She wanted to go back to Audrey’s neighborhood and talk to the people living on her street. She wasn’t sure it would do any good, but she had to do something. The not knowing was killing her.
She heard Vera open her bedroom door. The cat ran to the hallway. Soon, she saw Vera hobbling into the kitchen. Vera saw Mel was awake.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning,” Mel said.
“Would you like coffee this morning?” Vera asked.
“Please,” Mel said.
“I’m almost out. I have to go to the store.”
“I can take you,” Mel said.
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Vera asked.
“Not at all.”
“That would be very nice. It would save me paying for a taxi.” Vera filled the coffeemaker and took some things out of the fridge. “Have you found out anything more about Audrey?”
“Not really. We still don’t know where she is.”
“Did you spend the whole day with the policeman?”
“Yup.” Mel sat up and put her feet on the floor. “We found out that the kid living there had forged his name on the title to her home.”
“Well, that’s something. Can’t they arrest him for that?”
“Conner, the policeman, said it’s not enough to arrest him for. We have to have more of a case.”
“Well, I guess he knows what he’s doing. What would you like for breakfast?”
“Do you have some cereal?” Mel asked.
“I have bran flakes.”
Mel made a face. It was not what she had in mind. “Do you have bread? I could have some toast.”
“I have a nice multigrain bread.”
“That’s good.”
Vera took the bread out of the freezer and stuck two slices in the toaster. The coffeemaker was perking and the smell filled the little home. Mel got up and went to the bathroom. When she came out, she was dressed and sat at the table where Vera had placed her toast.
Vera brought two cups of coffee to the table and sat across from Mel. “We can go after I get dressed.”
Mel nodded as she buttered her toast. “Where do you usually go?”
“I like Publix. The one right over there,” she pointed out the window, “is very clean.”
“Then Publix it is.”
It didn’t take Vera long to dress and they were in Publix by nine. Vera used a scooter to navigate the large store while Mel looked around on her own with a cart. She put some things in the cart and then stopped dead in her tracks. Jason was in the aisle, but he hadn’t seen her yet.
She watched him as he put things in his cart. She backed away. He was a good-looking guy, and she believed he could have fooled an old, lonely woman. She got to the end of the aisle and moved in front of it. She peeked around the corner so she could still see him. Vera came up behind her.
“Are you playing hide and seek?” she asked.
Mel jumped, then turned to see Vera. “No. I just saw that guy who is in my aunt’s home.”
“Really? Where is he?” Vera road past her and looked down the aisle. “Is that him?”
“Yes, but be quiet. I don’t want him to see me.”
“He looks like that boy on TV. The good-looking one. What’s his name again? He’s on something at night.”
“We’ll figure it out later,” Mel said. “Are you ready to check out?”
“I think so.”
They went to the checkout and Mel insisted on paying for Vera’s items. Vera protested, but not too much, before letting Mel pay.
Vera rode the scooter to the car and Mel put the bags in the trunk. She saw Jason come out of the store and get into the Mercury. She helped Vera into her car and got in the driver’s side.
She followed the Mercury out the side of the parking lot. She saw it turn into a bank. There was nowhere for her to park so she just kept going. She wished she didn’t have Vera with her for she wanted to go to Audrey’s while he was out and look
around.
Once she got Vera squared away, Mel got back into her car and drove over to Audrey’s park. Something was up. There was a sheriff’s car parked in front of Marge’s house.
Mel parked in back of it and got out of her car. Marge was in tears and another woman had her arm around her. The deputy was taking notes. It wasn’t Conner. Mel glanced at Audrey’s home and didn’t see the Mercury. She wanted to find out what had happened to Marge, but she couldn’t pass up the chance to check out Audrey’s place while Jason was out. She decided to take a walk between Audrey’s home and the one next door. If anyone asked, she could say she was going to the pool.
The home’s foundation consisted of staggered cement blocks. The driveway ran up the right side, and next to it was a strip of dirt where Audrey had planted bushes. There was also a strip of dirt that ran along the back of the house. The central air conditioner was on the left side.
Mel walked to the back of the house. She looked at the bushes as she walked by them. She had no idea what she was looking for, but it felt like she was doing something. When she got to the back of the house, she noticed something strange. Audrey hadn’t planted anything there. Some of the dirt in the strip behind the house was darker than the rest. Someone had been digging there.
She heard a car coming into the driveway. She hid behind the home and waited until she heard a car door open and close. Then she waited until she heard the door to the home open and close before walking along the left side of the house. He would be in the kitchen and wouldn’t see her.
She ran to the front of the home and across the street. The deputy was getting into his car and the woman with Marge was walking with her back to Marge’s house. Mel followed them.
“What happened?” she called after them.
The woman turned and looked at Mel. “Her dog is missing.”
“Maurice?” Mel asked.
“Yes.”
Mel reached them as they neared the door. “When did this happen?”
“Wait a minute,” the woman said. She opened the door and helped Marge get inside. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
Mel waited ten minutes for the woman. She came out and was shaking her head.
“This will be the death of her,” the woman said.
“I’m Mel. My aunt lives across the street.”
“I’m Sharon. I’m her sister.”
“What happened to Maurice?”
“She was in the bathroom when he got out. She found the sliding door open when she got out and he was gone. She called and he didn’t come.”
“And she called the police?”
“She wanted to report him stolen. She can’t imagine him just wandering off.”
“But you think he did just wander off.”
“Maurice wasn’t the most obedient dog. He didn’t come when she called. I bet he’s somewhere down the street. I’m gonna ride around and see if I can find him.”
All of a sudden, Mel thought of the dirt in back of Audrey’s home.
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Sharon.”
Mel got back into her car. She opened the windows. She wasn’t sure what to do. She had a gut feeling, but she dismissed it. It was too horrible to think about. She decided to wait and see if Jason went out again.
Chapter 12
Mel was checking her Facebook page when she heard a car start. She saw the Mercury backing up and lay down on her seat. When she heard it drive away, she sat up and got out of the car.
She ran across the street and to the back yard. She looked around for something to dig with, then thought of the shed at the back of the driveway. She went to the shed and stepped inside. There was a rack of gardening tools over a sink. She grabbed the trowel and went back outside.
The old man next door, the one who had talked to Mel the first day she came looking for Audrey, was standing in his driveway and gave her a dirty look.
“What are you doing in there?”
“None of your business,” she said, and continued on to the back yard.
She stuck the trowel in the darker dirt and began to dig. It wasn’t long before she saw one of Maurice’s legs.
“Shit,” she said. The old man was standing nearby.
“Oh, my God,” he said.
“Shhh,” Mel said. “Do you want to kill Marge?” He put his hand over his mouth. “Go and call the police.”
“Why don’t you call the police?” he asked.
“Because I’m trespassing and will be arrested. You can say you saw something funny. Tell them you think your neighbor killed Maurice. That ought to get them out here.”
She covered Maurice’s leg and wiped her prints off the trowel. She also wiped off the handle on the door, then went to her car.
She wanted to call Conner. She wanted to tell him Jason had killed Maurice, but she still wasn’t sure why he had done it. She remembered Marge telling her that Maurice had been barking for the last three months. Conner thought he might be smelling something.
She turned on the car and drove away. She didn’t want the cops to see her parked there. With nowhere else to go, she called Lisa. It was ten and the call went to voicemail.
She left a message and hung up the phone. She thought about her aunt. In her heart, she knew they wouldn’t find her alive, but she still couldn’t entertain that thought. She kept pushing it aside, trying to keep the belief that she had taken a cruise. It was easier to keep going that way.
She thought about the mall across the street from the mobile home park. Shopping always helped her relax. She drove to the mall. Every parking space was taken. Christmas shoppers. Mel’s shoulders dropped. Christmas was in three days. She was supposed to leave tomorrow, Friday. There was no way she could go until she knew what had happened to Audrey.
She rode around until she found an empty spot near Target and parked. She hoped Lisa would call her back soon and left her phone on.
As Mel shopped at Target, Conner was sitting in the Clearwater Police Department reading the case file for Jason Frye Sr. The detective had concluded that the death was an accident and the case was closed. Conner was disappointed. He’d hoped they had looked into Jason Jr.
When he got back to his car, he looked at his computer and found a message. The dispatcher was asking for an officer to go to Holiday Oaks mobile home park to respond to a 911 call from a resident. He saw that another officer had responded, but he wanted to see what was going on and headed that way.
He saw the patrol car sitting in front of Jason Jr.’s home and parked behind it. He walked to the door and was about to knock when he saw Ben Kiernan, another deputy, coming around from the back of the home.
“Hey,” Conner said.
Ben nodded. “Maurice is dead.”
“What?” Conner asked.
“Maurice, the dog, is dead. He was buried behind this place. A neighbor called it in.”
“When did this happen?”
“Right after you spoke to the woman across the street.”
“When?” Conner asked.
“Today,” Ben said.
“I didn’t talk to her today.”
“Oh, I thought you were the one who took the report. The lady across the street called in a dognapping. Then this guy,” the deputy pointed at the old man’s house with his thumb, “called in and said he thought Maurice was dead. Well, he was right.”
“Someone killed the dog.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
The Mercury wasn’t parked in the driveway. “This guy did it.”
“You know who lives here?” the deputy asked.
“Yup. I was here two days ago.”
“I called animal control. They’re gonna pick Maurice up and find the cause of death. If he killed the dog, we may be looking at animal cruelty.”
“Why would he kill the dog?” Conner asked.
“Who knows? Some whack job who doesn’t like animals. Or he had it in for the lady across the street.”
&n
bsp; The deputy left Conner and went back to his cruiser. Conner walked around to the back of the house and looked at Maurice. The dog was covered in dirt. There was no way to tell what he had been doing before he met his demise.
Conner walked around the house and looked at the ground. Maybe the dog was digging and Jason caught him. Conner didn’t see any signs of digging on the left side of the home. He went to the front. There was a planter made of stacked stones cemented in place. It went the length of the front of the house. Conner looked at the stones. Toward the middle, he saw white marks on one of the stones. They looked like scratch marks.
Conner went to the shed. He took the same trowel that Mel had used and came back to the front of the house. He began to dig the dirt out of the planter. He dug all the way to the bottom and didn’t find anything. If a body had been buried there, he would have found it.
He moved the dirt around to cover the hole. He didn’t want Jason to know what he had seen. He put the trowel back. His hands were muddy. He tried turning on the sink in the shed, but it was dry.
He went back to his cruiser and took out a container of wipes from the glove box. He cleaned his hands as best he could. He was frustrated. The dog had been killed, but why? It had known something. It had smelled something, but the planter was empty. It was time to talk to his supervisor about investigating Jason Frye Jr.
Chapter 13
Mark Allen, Conner’s supervisor, sat behind a big, gray metal desk. Files filled one side. He kept rubbing his face. Conner was pressing him hard for a warrant, and Mark was trying to find some way to dissuade him. There just wasn’t enough proof that Jason had hurt a human being.
“He killed a dog; that’s probable cause,” Conner said.
“It’s animal cruelty, not murder.”
“But the lady is missing, and the dog knew something.”
“Conner, I admire your tenacity, but you don’t have a case here.”
“The kid forged her name on the title to her home.”
“So, we charge him with forgery. But we can’t, because you didn’t have a warrant.”
Conner was fuming. He knew Jason Jr. had done something to Audrey Glenn. But there was no body or proof that a murder had taken place.
