4 Arch Enemy of Murder

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  “That one was for our audience,” he whispered.

  “You’re bad. Good luck trying to explain this to them. The rumor mill is going to kick into overdrive after this.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” he said. They waved and she turned to go. Even though she didn’t turn around to check, she was sure that Gladys, Rose, Maya, and Janice were watching her. For that reason, she stopped outside the diner and asked Mr. Jepson what time it was. Mr. Jepson was middle-aged and widowed. He had also been Lacy’s fourth grade teacher. She would never see him as anything but old and stern, but she knew how it would look to the watching women as she smiled and laughed with an “eligible” man.

  She thanked Mr. Jepson for the time, patted his shoulder, and turned to wave at her grandmother’s friends. As she had predicted, their lips were moving as they leaned in and shook their heads. Despite the stressful night and lack of sleep, Lacy smiled as she headed toward the Stakely building and the comforting familiarity of work.

  Chapter 8

  “Hey, Joe!” Lacy greeted him with an enthusiastic smile and wave. He blinked at her a few times before answering, and that was when she was reminded that she was wearing yoga pants, an old college t-shirt, smeared makeup, and a disheveled hair bun.

  “Hey, Lacy,” Joe said, his tone a bit wary as he took in her appearance.

  “Long night,” she explained.

  “I’ve had a few of those.”

  Since he was a recovering drug addict who had spent much of his adult life in prison, she didn’t take much comfort in the commiseration. “Think I can avoid the crowd today and hide out in my office?” she asked.

  He smiled but otherwise didn’t reply as he followed her up the stairs. She made coffee and poured him a cup in the “World’s Best Boss” mug Michael had jokingly bought for her. If there was one thing she liked about Michael, it was that he was kind to Joe. Cindy was too, Lacy begrudgingly admitted. She was still searching for a flaw in the woman who had once been Jason’s first love and only serious girlfriend. Maybe she should sic her grandmother’s friends on the woman; they could find something wrong with anyone.

  Soon after she poured her coffee and sat down, her grandfather showed up for their weekly progress report. She had tried repeatedly to pay him for all the work he was doing on her behalf, but he waved her away with a gruff, “Nonsense. I’m enjoying myself,” every time.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as soon as he entered the room.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “You weren’t home this morning. Lucinda was worried.”

  She knew there was a lot he left unspoken. She was twenty six, almost twenty seven, and her grandparents tried to give her space. But it was hard for them whenever she was careless and made them worry. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to call. That’s horrible. Grandma must have been worried sick. I was with Tosh.”

  His eyebrows rose until they almost touched his hairline.

  “We were at the jail,” she added, but he looked no less confused. At the word “jail,” she looked over his shoulder at Joe to see if the reminder of his old life upset him, but he was staring vacantly into space as if lost in his own world. Her grandfather listened patiently as she explained about Pearl, not offering commentary until the end.

  “It certainly sounds like she did it,” he volunteered.

  “That’s what I think, too. But Tosh doesn’t.”

  “Everyone thought I did it,” Joe interjected. “No one believed me until you came along. That’s a terrible lonely feeling.”

  Lacy felt a ping of guilt for not giving Pearl the benefit of the doubt. “There’s a lot of compelling evidence, Joe.”

  “There was a lot of evidence in my case, too,” he said. “But I didn’t do it. Now, I’m not saying this woman didn’t, but she’s still innocent until proven guilty. Maybe this Tosh person is right and you ought to look into things.”

  “Carefully,” Mr. Middleton added. “I’ve got to run and check on my workers because they looked like they wanted to sneak out early today. I’ll come back and we’ll finish this later.”

  Lacy nodded absently as he left and closed the door. “Joe, you amble around town at night, right?”

  “Some,” he admitted.

  “Did you go out on Tuesday night after dark?”

  He squinched his eyes closed while he thought. “I believe so, but sometimes the days run together. No, wait, I’m positive I went out on Tuesday.”

  “Did you see or hear anything unusual?”

  “I thought I saw a lion. I cornered it, but it turned out to be a really fat cat.”

  “You thought you saw a lion, and you cornered it?” Lacy clarified.

  “How often do you get to see a lion up close?”

  “Good point,” she said. “Anything else? Did you hear gunshots from the east end of town?”

  “I hear a lot of gunshots at night,” he said.

  “Isn’t shooting at night illegal?”

  He raised one shoulder and let it drop. “Lots of things are illegal. Doesn’t mean people don’t do ‘em.”

  “Another good point,” she said. “Have you ever thought of writing a book, Joe? You could dispense advice.”

  “Who says I haven’t?” Joe said with a rare display of timely humor.

  “So when you heard this shooting on Tuesday, I don’t suppose you happened to see who did it?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to say it was an angry large woman or not. Her life would be simpler if there was a witness who implicated Pearl, but the fallout wouldn’t be good.

  “Can’t see nothing at night,” Joe said.

  Lacy released her grip on the file in her lap. Until he spoke, she didn’t realize she had been tensed as if Joe might actually hold the key to Pearl’s guilt or innocence. “You’re right of course.”

  “There were an awful lot of people out that night though,” Joe said. “I remember thinking the town was awful busy, and I’m sure it was Tuesday because that’s the night my sister made Indian food, and I was walking it off.”

  “What do you mean by busy?” she asked.

  He shrugged again. “Just lots of people out darting to and fro.”

  “They were darting? From what? To where?”

  “I dunno. Lots of people scurrying in the darkness. I figured it was some game I wasn’t onto. Kids will have their fun, you know.”

  “So they were kids?” she asked, feeling tense all over again. Surely children weren’t responsible for Jonah Merleputter’s death, were they? How awful for a young life to be ruined because of a stupid game or prank, if that’s what it had been.

  “Some of them was definitely kids,” he said with a decisive nod of his head.

  “And the others?”

  “Were too far and too dark to make out for sure.” He scratched at his head. “Sorry,” he added when he sensed her disappointment.

  “No, don’t be sorry. You’ve helped a lot.” She said the words to be encouraging. All she had really learned was that a lot of random people were out on Tuesday night. Without names or descriptions, she had nothing. “If you think of anything else, please let me know.”

  “I’ll try,” he replied.

  The door banged open and Michael bustled in before flopping in what had become his usual spot across from her desk. “Whoa, you look dreadful.”

  Lacy used her thumb to rub at a spot between her eyebrows. “Why is it I see you and get an immediate headache?”

  “From trying so hard to resist my charms,” he said.

  “I set myself up for that one. What do you want, Michael?”

  “I have a very serious question for you,” he said. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table to mimic her pose.

  “What is it?”

  “What happened after you left the restaurant last night?”

  “Why is that a serious question, and why is it any of your business?” Lacy asked.

  “Because the waiter and I have a bet going. If you and the fellow kisse
d and made up, then I owe him twenty bucks. But if he left you high and dry and you had to walk home, then I win.” He grinned at her.

  “You watched me walk out of the parking lot; you know I walked home,” she said.

  “And that’s why you never make wagers with an Irishman.” He craned his neck backwards. “Take a lesson, Joe.”

  “I learned that lesson the hard way in prison,” Joe said. “I didn’t get my commissary money for a month.”

  Michael winced. “Sorry, mate.”

  “This is all very amusing, but some of us have real work to do,” Lacy said.

  “Some of us would love to have real work to do. Are we still on schedule? The bills are piling up,” he said.

  “I have an idea,” Lacy said.

  “Shoot,” he said.

  “If you get a monkey to hold a hat while you play, your violin tips will increase tenfold.”

  He sucked air through his teeth. “That was surprisingly cold. I’m impressed.”

  She was already feeling remorse for the low blow. “Do you really need money? Because I could…”

  He cut her off by holding up a hand. “Don’t ruin what little respect I have for you by being nice. I like you better when you’re feisty. Don’t you, Joe?” He turned around, but Joe was gone. “Have you ever wondered if maybe Joe’s not quite real?”

  “All the time,” Lacy admitted. Michael gave her a heads up nod and a smile as he let himself out. She tried to shake the disconcerting feeling he had left behind. She was so used to being annoyed by him that she wasn’t sure how to handle getting along.

  For a few hours, she worked in relative peace, if the ringing of phones and slamming of doors in the nearby doctor’s offices could be considered peaceful. As the day wore on and the coffee wore off, she became sleepier and sleepier until at last she laid her head down on the desk and dropped off to sleep.

  The impromptu nap was short lived, cut off by the slamming of the door. “I decided what I want,” Riley announced as she flounced into the chair Michael had vacated earlier that morning.

  “Me, too. A lock on that door,” Lacy muttered. She sat up and swiped at her already ruined makeup.

  “I’m serious, Lacy. I put in my time with Pukey Jim, and I want what’s coming to me.”

  “I thought you and Travis seemed to be hitting it off,” Lacy said.

  “Really? What part went the best—his nervous silence, the smell of upchuck that no amount of breath mints could cover, the age difference—thanks for telling me about that, by the way—his loser job at the sheriff’s office, the sad puppy dog way he kept staring at me every time he thought I wasn’t looking, or the fact that I had to call Grandma to come pick us up after he finished tossing his supper on the floor outside the bathroom? Worst date ever, and of course I have you to thank for it. So I want what I was promised, and I want it now.”

  “I said it had to be within reason, Riley,” Lacy said.

  “It’s plenty reasonable,” Riley said.

  “What is it?” Lacy asked. She reached for her checkbook, sure it would be money.

  “I want to know what’s going on. I want to know where your mysterious fortune came from.”

  “That’s it?” Lacy asked.

  “I told you it was reasonable,” Riley said.

  Lacy sat back, templing her fingers. “That is a reasonable request, but I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

  “What do you mean you can’t tell me?” Riley shouted. “Why not?”

  “Because it involves secrets that are not mine to share.”

  “Oh, that certainly doesn’t make me any less curious. You’re torturing me because you know I can’t stand being left out of the loop,” Riley said.

  “No, that’s an added bonus. What I said was true. If anyone is going to tell you what’s going on, it’s not going to be me.”

  Riley stared her down, trying to intimidate with her glare. Lacy stared back, unfazed. After a few minutes of the silent standoff, Riley relented. “Fine, then I want money.”

  “How much?” Lacy asked.

  “A hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

  Lacy’s hand froze in midair and she laughed. “What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “You’re loaded, and I know it. Cough it up.”

  “You can’t be serious. There is no way I’m giving you that much money. I was thinking the cost of a new dress, and by that I mean a dress that I would buy, something off the rack.”

  Riley’s lower lip crept out and lingered in a pout. After another stubborn silence, she let out a breath. “Fine, then I want you to let me throw the grand opening party for this place. And I want you to pay me my standard fee.”

  Lacy regarded her in silence again for a few minutes. “I will let you have the party if you keep the budget under five thousand dollars including your fee.”

  “Ten,” Riley said.

  “Eight,” Lacy countered.

  “Nine,” Riley tried.

  “Five,” Lacy said.

  Riley looked around, probably for something to throw. Glassware tended to reach an agonizing end whenever she was in a temper. After a minute of wrinkled nose and heavy, angry breathing, she gave in. “Fine. Eight.” Just like that, she stood and left the office.

  “I get final party plan approval,” Lacy called.

  “In your dreams,” Riley called back, and then she was gone.

  Almost as soon as Riley was gone, the phone rang. “Hello,” Lacy snapped, much harsher than she intended.

  “Whoa, are you okay?” Tosh asked.

  “Riley was here.”

  “Funny how those three words explain everything. What is your level of exhaustion?” he asked.

  “Off the charts. Why?”

  “I got the key to Pearl’s house. I wondered if you wanted to take a look around tonight. But if you’re too tired, then we could do it tomorrow. By the way, the arraignment is tomorrow at eight. I was just at the jail. You’ll probably be getting the call in a little while.”

  “Sounds like tomorrow is going to be busy; we should search the house tonight.”

  “That was my thinking, too. I’ll pick you up at five. We’ll grab food and head over.”

  “You realize I haven’t showered in two days and I’m still wearing the same clothes from Sunday,” Lacy said.

  “You realize you have no need to try and impress me,” he said.

  “You realize I utilize hygiene for my own self-respect,” she replied.

  “Duly noted. We’ll swing by your house so you can shower.”

  “And brush my teeth,” she threw in.

  “I could have lived without knowing that last part. See you in a bit.”

  She hung up with Tosh and stared at her never-ending pile of work. She picked up a contract she needed to review and sign in order to have some stained-glass repaired on the main level. The words blurred, and the next thing she knew she was asleep on her desk once again.

  Chapter 9

  “Lacy.” Someone whispered her name and put his hand on her back. She jumped and bonked heads with Tosh who was leaning over her.

  “Ow,” she said as she rubbed her head.

  “You really are sort of a mess,” he said.

  “I can’t hear that enough,” she said.

  “C’mon, let’s get you home so you can get cleaned up.” They took the freight elevator. She leaned heavily on the wall as she tried to wake up. Even though it was after their normal working hours, the construction workers were still there, a sure sign that her grandfather was eking every last drop of work out of them until the project was completed. Lacy felt like they came to a standstill as she and Tosh walked through the center of the room.

  “Why are they staring at me?” she whispered.

  “You’ll see when you get in the car,” he said.

  She slid into his car, pulled down the mirror, and yelped at her reflection. Half of her bun had come loose and now hung in tangled rats. What little mascara she’d ha
d left had been smeared in channels down her face, and she had deep lines on her cheek from the stack of papers she had slept on. “Why didn’t you tell me I looked this bad?”

  “I did,” Tosh said.

  “I thought you meant I was a mess in a general sort of way,” she said. “So much for my professional image.”