by Raven Snow
Veronica shrugged. “He owns a chain of grocery stores. Health-Mart. They’re great. Organic produce, a deli, all sorts of freshly baked whole grains and things. Have you ever been there?”
Rowen shook her head. “Can’t say that I have.”
“There are five stores now. The closest one is in Tarricville. I buy my groceries there all the time. He started giving me the employee discount when he and Mom began dating.” Veronica looked down at her feet. She shook her head. "I hope he stays in touch. He was such a nice guy.”
“Sure, but his groceries are overpriced,” Richard grumbled. “I don’t know who can pay for that sort of thing.”
“People without huge families,” Veronica snapped back.
“I’ll have to check the place out,” said Rowen.
Eric looked at his wife. “Seriously?” It definitely didn’t sound like his sort of thing.
Rowen nudged him with her knee, hoping to quiet him. “I’ve been trying to get in the habit of eating healthier.”
Veronica perked up quite a bit at that. “Oh, definitely. Fitness starts in the kitchen, you know? You really can’t overstate the importance of what you’re putting in your body.”
Richard groaned, earning himself a glare from his sister. “Just because you haven’t touched a vegetable in a decade doesn’t make what I’m saying any less true, Richard.”
“Don’t listen to her. She’s a health nut.” Richard held up a hand before his sister could come back with an insult of her own. “I think I found it. This is it. This is the will.” He held aloft a packet of papers.
Veronica slipped from her chair and back onto the floor with her brother. She moved so that she could see over his shoulder. “Do you need us to leave?” asked Rowen.
“It’s fine,” Richard said quickly, spreading the papers out in front of them. The sibling’s eyes darted back and forth over the page, taking the whole thing in. “Looks like a lot of her things go to the church,” said Richard, tapping a spot on the paper.
“And this house goes to you.” Veronica pointed to a different spot. She frowned slightly at it.
Richard glanced at his sister. “You don’t want to live here, do you?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, then it shouldn’t matter.”
“Are you going to live here?” Veronica shot back.
“You know I’m not. There wouldn’t be room for my family.” Richard sighed and sat back on his heels. “Well, this is a pickle.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Rowen, not quite following any of this. It was Eric’s turn to nudge her now. This really wasn’t a subject she should be getting nosy about.
The siblings didn’t seem to mind. “This house has been in our family as far back as anyone can remember,” Richard explained.
Veronica nodded. “My mother loved this place. She said she wanted to die here. I guess she got her wish.” The mood immediately grew somber. The siblings stared at the will. Their eyes no longer moved over the words. Both looked to be caught in their own thoughts. Rowen just hoped they were good memories of their mother. That was generally the most you could hope for when it came to situations like these.
“Look here.” Veronica tapped the will, snapping her brother from his daze. “She left her recipe books to Dimitri.”
Richard pushed his glasses up on his nose. He frowned down at the paper. “Huh.” He gave a grunt of mild interest as he read what his sister was pointing at. “Odd,” he said.
“Is it?” asked Rowen.
Veronica shrugged. “Not really, I guess. I don’t eat the sort of things Mom cooked and Richard’s family has their own way of cooking. She would sometimes fix meals for Dimitri. Maybe she wanted to be sure he had the recipes he told her he liked most.”
Richard stood and headed for the kitchen. “I’m going to get those cookbooks and photocopy them just in case. I mean, Mom made them by hand. It would be a shame to give them away and have them lost to the family altogether.”
Rowen stood at this point as well. Eric quickly followed suit. “I guess I should be going.” Rowen had the feeling that she had learned all there was to learn here— at least for now.
Veronica looked up from the will. “Thank you for coming here on such short notice. My brother and I really appreciate it.”
Rowen was touched that Veronica and Richard hadn’t outwardly shown her family any disdain. If anything, they had been genuinely pleasant. “No problem,” Rowen assured them. “I’m just sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.”
“It’s fine.” Veronica gave Rowen a strained smile. “I guess it’s just nice hearing that she was able to move on.”
Rowen wasn’t sure if that was actually any comfort to Veronica. She headed for the front door anyway, letting herself out. “Well?” prompted Eric. “They seemed nice enough. Do you feel more comfortable with this being natural causes now?”
Rowen considered the question as they headed down the sidewalk. She wasn’t sure what outcome Eric was hoping for. If it was a murder, he would likely be called in by the police to lend a hand. He always enjoyed that. It was a far sight more entertaining than staking out a cheating spouse or some underpaid employee sneaking money from a till. “I don’t know,” Rowen admitted, once they were at the car. “Something still doesn’t feel right about it to me.”
“What doesn’t feel right about it?” Eric asked, looking at her over the roof of his car. His brows were drawn together. The light breeze whipped his blond hair around his face.
“Either Dina Drew was murdered or the crime we’re looking for hasn’t happened yet.” Rowen hated this feeling. It was one of the most uncomfortable things she had ever experienced. “It feels like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Chapter Five
“We don’t need groceries,” said Eric, giving his wife a blank look from the driver’s seat. They had pulled over on their way back to their investigations office. Rowen didn’t want to go that way and had said as much at length.
“You know we’re not going there just for the groceries.” Rowen leaned against the armrest, drawing her face closer to his. “Come on. I just want to scope the place out. Where’s the harm in that, huh?”
“There’s no harm in it. It’s just a waste of time.” Eric had said this already. At this point, he was just growing increasingly more frustrated. “Tarricville is a long drive. We’ll have to fill up the gas tank. By the time we get back home, the day will be over. You’ll have spent the whole day just following a whim.”
“It’s not just a whim,” Rowen insisted.
“Yeah, well, what is it then?”
Rowen hesitated. Even she wasn’t quite sure what it was she was expecting to find if they went. “You know these feelings I get. I’m right about this. Something is going to happen. Are you telling me, after all the time we’ve been together, you don’t believe me?”
“Of course I believe you, Honey.” Eric’s frown deepened. “You know I do, so don’t try to pull that card on me. I’ve also known you long enough to be able to tell when you’re floundering. You don’t know what you’re looking for or even where you need to look. Going to Tarricville is pointless.”
“We don’t know that, though,” Rowen insisted. She settled back into her seat with a defeated sigh. “Fine, you’re right. I don’t know what I’m looking for… Shouldn’t I at least do all I can to try and figure this thing out, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if I think someone is about to be killed, aren’t we morally obligated to try and do everything we can to prevent it? This is the only potential solution I can see.”
Eric turned, looking out the front windshield. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. After several long moments, he swore. “Fine! We’ll go grocery shopping.”
Rowen smiled. “Thank you, dear.”
“Thank me when we get back home in the middle of the night. Since this was your idea, you can drive.”
Ro
wen didn’t mind driving. If anything, it was sort of nice being out on the road with her husband. Having been raised in such a large family, it was strangely relaxing to be alone with someone else, trapped together somewhere intimate like in a car. Rowen made small talk as they drove. “We’ll need to talk to Ben tomorrow.”
“Why? He didn’t give the okay for this. He’s not going to be reimbursing us gas money or anything.”
“This isn’t about that.” Rowen thought he could have guessed that. Apparently, she was wrong. “This is about Rose.”
“What about Rose?”
Rowen knew her husband wasn’t dense. “This whole marriage business. The more I think about it, the more it bugs me. Rose isn’t the sort of person who’s going to say something about it either.”
“Rose is an adult.” Eric left it at that, like that was all that needed to be said. Maybe it was.
“I still feel like I need to say something.”
“Well, I’m not going to come with you.”
“Fine, I’ll do it by myself.”
Eric shrugged. “Fine, but I’d rather you didn’t.”
Rowen considered her options here. She did think that Rose and Ben made a good couple. They were both focused on work and knew when to be serious. Ben was, undoubtedly, quite a bit more serious than Rose. That wasn’t a bad thing, though. Rose knew how to keep him grounded. She made sure he came to the occasional family dinner or outing. With that important job of his, he didn’t have time for a whole lot. That wasn’t a huge deal either, what with Rose being so low maintenance.
“Isn’t that it?” Eric’s words drew Rowen from her thoughts. He had his cell phone on his lap and had been reading off directions ever since they got to Tarricville. Now he was pointing to a shopping center on their right.
Rowen looked. Sure enough, there it was. Health-Mart. The big letters were spelled out in red above the entrance. It was situated between a fashion boutique and a hot yoga studio. Rowen found a place to park, navigating between expensive-looking vehicles. “I’m beginning to think Richard was right. This place seems pricey.”
“It looks like the sort of place my parents used to shop at,” said Eric, frowning at the building.
“You’re telling me you didn’t shop at this kind of place out in the city?” Rowen teased. Not so long ago, her husband had been just as wealthy as his parents. He’d quit that job in favor of a life in a small town. Since then, they had sunk most of his money into a house and businesses. Not that either of them were struggling financially.
“I always had my assistant do the shopping.” Eric got out of the car. “So, what is it again that you’re hoping to find here?”
Rowen followed suit. “A feeling.” That probably wasn’t the answer Eric wanted, but it was the only one she had. She felt like she needed to be here. She needed to find some bit of information that was waiting here for her.
“I’d be surprised if… What was his name? Dimitri? I’d be surprised if he was here today. Heck, as the owner, I’d be surprised if he was ever here.”
Rowen shrugged. “Maybe he wants to keep busy at a time like this.” Together they walked to the entrance and into the store. It was about what Rowen had expected. Back in the days when she had lived far away from Lainswich and worked in tabloid journalism, she had gone to places like this only for those obscure foods she couldn’t find anywhere else. A bunch of people were milling about— mostly hipsters and moms in yoga pants.
“You getting one of those feelings of yours yet?” asked Eric. The way he asked was more than a little condescending. He could likely tell from Rowen’s expression that she was lost. She certainly felt lost.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” Rowen lied. She strolled right up to the customer service desk, trying her best to appear confident in what she was doing. She was going to feel pretty embarrassed if they drove all the way out here only to turn right back around and head home without accomplishing anything.
A teenager staring off into space jerked into alertness when Rowen reached the desk. She put on a smile and stood up straighter. “Can I help you?”
“I was wondering if the owner was here right now. Dimitri…” Rowen realized that, if she had ever heard it to begin with, she had completely forgotten the man’s last name.
“Mr. Harris?” asked the teenager.
That was a relief. Rowen had fully expected to only receive an odd look. “Right. Is he here?”
“Um.” The teenager looked around as if he might be nearby or someone else might have an answer to that question. “I can see.”
“That’d be great. Thank you.” Rowen turned to give Eric the most self-satisfied smirk she could manage.
“Don’t look so happy yet,” he warned her. “You still don’t know if he’s actually here yet.”
Rowen turned back to the desk. The teenager was standing there with a phone to her ear, quietly exchanging words with someone else. “Uh huh… Uh huh… Yes, Sir.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Rowen again. “You can go to his office in the back. It’s past the freezer section, like you’re going to the bathrooms. Go past that, and his office is on your right.”
“Thank you.” Rowen shot her husband one final self-satisfied look as she marched past him toward the freezer section.
Eric rolled his eyes. “You got lucky.”
“It’s all instinct,” Rowen corrected. “Like I said, you should know by now. I just get these feelings.”
“Yeah right. You didn’t have a feeling this time.” Eric rammed her lightly with his shoulder as he sped up to walk side by side. “And we still haven’t talked to the guy yet. For all you know, he’s not going to have anything to say.”
“Be a little more positive,” Rowen scolded. “You’d rather me find something out than not.”
“I guess,” said Eric with an over-dramatic sigh. “Let’s see what this guy knows.”
***
Rowen headed into the back like the teenager at the customer service desk had instructed. Sure enough, there was a closed door with a placard on it not too far in. Dimitri Harris: Owner, it read. Rowen knocked.
“Come on in,” called a deep, warm sounding voice.
Rowen eased the door open. The office wasn’t terribly large. It was a little room decorated with flowers and pictures. Some business degrees hung on the wall behind a slim, white haired man. He stood, revealing himself to be at least half a head taller than Rowen’s six-foot husband. “You have something to do with Dina, I take it.” Dimitri offered a hand which Rowena and Eric both shook.
Rowen nodded. “We are… Were you expecting someone?” She didn’t want to have a discussion with him under false pretenses.
“A couple of people came by to offer their apologies. The police swung by earlier with a few questions. I’ve got no clue who you two are, but I figure it’s something similar.” He motioned to a couple of seats in front of the desk.
Rowen sank down into one of the seats. Eric did the same. “I’m Rowen Greensmith. This is my associate, Eric. We’re working in conjunction with the police. We’re, ah, consulting for them.”
Eric glanced at his wife. Rowen could feel his disapproval. She ignored it. It wasn’t like she had lied. They were working with the police. The police just hadn’t asked them to come here.
Dimitri steepled his fingers. “Well, I already told the detectives all I know. I’m not sure what else I can share. I’d been seeing Dina for a while. This all… It just breaks my heart.” He looked down at the table. “If there’s anything I can do to help, I’d be happy to, but… I mean, it was natural causes, wasn’t it?”
“That’s the case so far,” Eric said before Rowen could step in with a reply of her own. He didn’t seem to trust her with this. “We’re just covering all the bases. They hired us, after all. We like to be thorough.”
“Of course.” Dimitri leaned back in his chair, relaxing a bit. “Well, like I said, I was seeing Dina before she passed. She was an amazing woman, really incredible.
I’ll miss her more than I can say.”
Rowen nodded. She motioned to their surroundings. “I was, honestly, surprised to find you here. I didn’t think you would be at work on a day like today.”
“As you may already be aware, I own several Health-Mart locations.” Dimitri’s words were measured, like he wasn’t sure he liked what she was getting at. “I live in Tarricville, and this was my first location. I prefer to be here when life is serving up a hardball.”
“That’s understandable.” Rowen forced a smile just in case she was beginning to come off a little forward. Still looking around the room, she noted that quite a few of the pictures featured Dina.
It looked like he really had been dating her seriously for a while. There were pictures of them at Dina’s house, at the store, out and about at what looked like organized walking events Veronica might have dragged them to. “How long were the two of you dating?” asked Eric. The pictures must have caught his eye as well.
“The better part of a year.” Dimitri seemed to take a guess at what they were thinking. “I only got on the dating scene much later in life. This is all very new to me. I’ve never been married or in any sort of serious relationship. I’ve had dalliances here and there but never anything like this. She was a very special woman, and she’s left something of a hole in my life, it seems.”
“I’m sorry,” said Rowen, her words echoed by her husband. “I imagine you already talked to her kids?”
“Of course,” Dimitri nodded. “Veronica, Richard and I are very close. I would be down there now if they hadn’t insisted I stay here. Hence why I’m here at work. I don’t really know what to do with myself—Though, I think I mentioned that already.”
“Where did the two of you meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Dimitri raised an eyebrow at Rowen’s question. Eric covered for her. “Don’t mind her. She also works for a paper that covers local public interest pieces like this.”
Rowen nodded. “Sorry, I should have mentioned that. There will be a little blurb about Ms. Drew’s death in the next paper. Obviously, we like to get some comments from people who knew her. I mean, as long as I’m here…”
