by Cindy Bell
Chapter 9
Kerri was so distracted by the ring that she forgot entirely about Steve coming over for dinner. When she got back to her car she snapped a picture of the ring with her phone. Then she drove towards the police station. She wanted the murder to be solved as quickly as possible which meant that she had to be forthcoming with any evidence she found. Though she had no idea if the ring was evidence, she decided she needed to let Chief Meyers know about it. When she entered the police station she found that it was fairly quiet. The desk sergeant looked up at her with a mild smile.
“Can I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could speak to Chief Meyers for a few minutes, please?”
“He’s pretty busy right now. Is there a reason you want to speak to him?” He picked up a pen and pulled a form from a shelf under the desk.
“It’s about a current case. I just need a few minutes.” She offered her most charming smile. “Maybe if you just mention that Kerri Gale would like to see him?”
“Does he know you?”
“Yes, he does.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can do. But you have to fill out this form first.” He slid the form and pen to her. She began to scribble her information on the form. Just as she handed it back to him the front door of the police station opened and Chief Meyers walked in.
“Benny, we’ve got to make sure that there is someone at the West house at all times. Understand?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Chief Meyers?” Kerri turned to face him.
“Kerri.” He nodded as he walked towards her. “What are you doing here?”
“Can I speak to you for just a few minutes?”
“Sure, but it has to be quick.” He signaled for her to follow him down a hallway to his office. Once they were inside he hung his hat on a coat rack, then sat down behind his desk. “All right, Kerri, what is it?”
“I found something. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with Damian’s death or not, but I felt like I should tell you.”
“Oh?” His eyes narrowed with interest. “What is it.”
Kerri reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring. When she dropped it into his palm, he frowned. “Where did you find this?”
“Actually, I didn’t really find it. A squirrel gave it to me.”
“A squirrel?” He laughed. “Are you here to cheer me up? Because I appreciate that.”
“No, I’m serious, Chief Meyers. The woods behind my house are the same woods that lead up to the property where Damian was found. I have a squirrel that I feed a few times a day, and he brought this to me.”
“First of all, you’re not supposed to feed the wildlife. Secondly, this ring could have come from anywhere. What makes you think it has anything to do with Damian’s death?”
“Because I noticed at the boxing gym, that everyone in a picture there had the exact same ring on.”
“Wait a minute, what were you doing at the boxing gym?”
“I can’t have the grand opening until next weekend now because I want the biggest turnout possible so I have some free time.” Kerri shrugged. “I just thought I’d look into things a bit.”
“You mean, interfere with my investigation?” He sat back in his chair and stared at her.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t stepped on any toes.”
“Maybe you’re stepping on mine.” He held the ring up to the light and studied it. “Looks like it’s seen better days. It looks like there are initials on here, but the engraving has worn off.”
“Well, it was carted around by a squirrel. Like I said, I wasn’t sure if it would have anything to do with the case, and I honestly am not interested in causing you any trouble. It just didn’t feel right not to show it to you.”
“I appreciate that you have some kind of faith that I can do my job.” He raised an eyebrow and looked across the desk at her.
“I have complete faith that you can. But it never hurts to have other perspectives, does it?”
“I guess not. So, what’s your other perspective?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“How do you think the ring is relevant?”
“Well, if he got into it with one of the people he boxed with, maybe they decided to settle the score outside of the ring.”
“Maybe.” He placed the ring in an evidence bag. “I will look into this. I doubt we can get any prints off it, but we might be able to find some DNA. Maybe figure out the engraving. We should be able to figure out if it belonged to Damian.”
“Didn’t he have his on?”
“No, there was no ring found with his body. Maybe it came off in the struggle.”
“You think there was a struggle?”
“I know there was. He was killed by a gunshot, but he was beat up pretty badly first.”
“I hope the ring leads to something for you, Chief.”
“Thanks.”
Kerri stood up from the chair and turned to leave the office. “Thank you for your time, Chief Meyers.”
“Kerri?”
“Yes?” She looked back over her shoulder at him.
“I get the impression that even if I ask you to stay out of this, you won’t. So at least let me know if you find anything else and please be careful.”
“I will be.” She smiled some as she continued out the door. At least he wasn’t ordering her to stay out of the investigation. When she got back into the car, she checked her phone. She noticed that she’d missed a text from her grandfather.
Are you coming home for dinner?
Kerri gulped and looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was almost six. Hopefully Steve would be late otherwise she wouldn’t have time to change or put her hair up or even add a little make-up to what was already pretty much worn off.
Chapter 10
As Kerri drove back towards the house her stomach filled with butterflies. She had planned to look as nice as possible for Steve, but it looked like she was too late for that. Which meant, he was going to have to accept her as she was. She parked and hurried into the house. The scents of garlic and tomato filled the air. She could hear her grandfather humming in the kitchen.
“I’m here, Grandpa! Sorry I’m late. Do you need help with anything?”
“No, I’m fine thanks. Dinner should be ready soon. Is Steve still joining us?”
“Yes, as far as I know.” After giving Cashew a quick cuddle she ducked into the bathroom and glanced in the mirror. Using her fingers she combed through her hair and tried to smooth out the make-up on her face. Seconds later, the doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the hall.
“Are you going to get that?”
“Yes, I’ve got it, Grandpa.” She cleared her throat, and smoothed down her blouse. When she opened the door Steve held a paper bag out to her.
“I brought some wine.”
“Thank you, that’s great. Come inside.” She moved back from the door so that he could step in. “How are you doing?”
“Okay I guess. A little frustrated with not getting the answers I expected.”
“Did you talk to Jasper?” She led him into the living room and invited him to sit down beside her on the couch. He sat down in the chair across from her instead.
“I did, but all he said was he thought that Damian was moving away for work since he wanted to get away from Cascade Grove after he left Chloe at the altar. That was it.”
“Do you think he knows more than that?”
“If he does, it doesn’t look like he’s going to tell me.”
“After I got that text from Chloe, I started to think that maybe Damian was killed over whatever he was working on. But I’m sure Jasper would know about that, right?”
“I would expect so. But clearly he either doesn’t trust me, or doesn’t know anything.”
“I don’t see why he wouldn’t trust you.” She tapped her fingertips on her knee. “Maybe Damian kept it from him for a reason. Maybe he thought whatever he was looking into wa
s far too dangerous for anyone to know about. That might be why he blew off the wedding and never mentioned it to Jasper.”
“Yes, it could be. I just have no idea what Damian could have been investigating that would put him in that much danger. Maybe if I had paid more attention, I would know.”
“Don’t do that to yourself, Steve. You had no way of knowing what Damian was up to. He would have come to you eventually, I’m sure.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He balled his hands into fists.
“Steve, what is it? Is there something you’re not telling me?” As he looked up at her, she met his gaze, and held it. “You can tell me, if you want to.”
“After the wedding, I was pretty angry. I don’t know Chloe that well, but I know no woman deserves to be treated like that. When Damian came into the office to collect his things, I let him know how I felt about it, and that he owed her a big apology. He just rushed off, and didn’t say much about it. Maybe if I wasn’t so judgmental he would have confided in me what he was up to.”
“You can’t know that. Besides it wasn’t wrong of you to stand up for Chloe. It was sweet.”
“Dinner’s ready!” George rapped on the door frame of the entrance to the kitchen.
“Smells great.” Steve stood up and followed Kerri into the kitchen. As they gathered around the table George placed a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs on the table. “I hope you’re hungry, I made a lot.”
“Yes, you did.” Kerri laughed. “And I am very hungry.”
“Me too. Thanks so much for doing this, George.”
“No problem. One of the most important things to remember during a crisis is to eat. If the body grows weak, the mind follows right behind.”
“That’s a good point. I guess I’ll take a big helping then.” Steve laughed.
As they enjoyed the meal, Kerri recalled the ring she’d given to Chief Meyers.
“So, I paid a visit to the boxing gym today.”
“You did?” Steve slid forward some on his chair. “That’s kind of a rough place.”
“It wasn’t too bad, once I got past the smell.” She quirked a brow. “I guess that the regulars don’t notice it anymore.”
“Maybe not, but every time I’m there I notice it.” Steve scrunched his nose.
“You’ve been there?” She twirled some spaghetti on her fork.
“Yes, a few times. To see Damian box, or Jasper.”
“Does Jasper box a lot?”
“Not as much as he used to. You know the place, don’t you, George?” Steve glanced over at him.
“Me?” George cleared his throat.
“Oh, I just noticed your car there a few times when I’ve stopped in or been driving past, so I thought you’d been there.”
“Grandpa?” She looked across the table at him. “Is that true?”
“I’ve gone a few times. Or more than a few. I have to stay in shape. I enjoy a good match in the ring now and then, too.”
“I had no idea. Have you ever seen Damian there?”
“No, like I said, I don’t go that often, and usually it’s quiet when I’m there. It’s just a place to blow off some steam.”
“Well, then you both might have something to say about what I found. Or I should say, what I was given.” Kerri pulled out her phone.
“Phones at dinner?” George pursed his lips.
“There’s a good reason, I promise.” She displayed the picture of the ring. “My squirrel friend brought this to me today. I turned it in to Chief Meyers, because I saw a photograph in the gym of Damian and some other boxers and they were all wearing a ring like this.”
“Yes, a lot of them have them.” George nodded. “Some kind of boxing club I think. Not everyone who works out there has them, just some of the boxers who fight in matches, or fought in the past.”
“I can remember Damian wearing his most of the time. Do you think it’s his?” Steve asked.
“Probably. Chief Meyers said there was no ring found on his body. However, it could belong to someone else I guess.”
“Interesting.” Steve narrowed his eyes. “The only way I can see it coming off Damian’s finger is if there was quite a struggle. He was always complaining about it being too tight.”
“I found out something interesting today, too.” George took a sip of his wine, then set it back down on the table. Something about the motion drew Kerri’s attention sharply to him. His gaze shifted across the table and locked to Steve’s. The air became thick with tension as George’s expression grew stern. “Didn’t you tell Kerri that Damian moved away?”
“I thought he had.” Steve furrowed an eyebrow. “That’s why no one noticed he was missing.”
“Because you told everyone he had moved away?” George twirled his wine glass slowly with one hand.
“Grandpa, what is this about?” Kerri frowned.
“Not just me, I mean everyone knew about it.” Steve shook his head. “Why are you asking me this?”
“Because there are a few things I know about moving away. One of those things is that most people put in a forwarding address at the post office quite some time before they actually move. Now, you may leave some furniture behind if you don’t want it and you’re in a rush, but you’re not going to leave all of your mail behind and not arrange to have it sent to you. It makes everything difficult when you try to set up in a new place. So I don’t think that Damian would have skipped that step.”
“Okay.” Steve folded his arms and studied George in return. “Is there a point to this?”
“Yes. I stopped by the post office today. I decided to just confirm that Damian actually intended to move, and where he forwarded his mail so that I could see if there was some kind of issue there. Perhaps he made some enemies very quickly.”
“They don’t just give out that kind of information.” Steve pursed his lips.
“They do to me.” George turned his head to the side and spared a glance in Kerri’s direction, before he looked back at Steve. “I found out that there was no record of a forwarding address for Damian. Which makes me suspect two things. One, he never intended to move in with Chloe, and two he never intended to move anywhere. So that made me wonder, who would want to start a rumor like that? Maybe someone who knew that Damian was dead, and wanted to cover up for the murder?”
“What are you implying, George?” Steve narrowed his eyes. “Are you asking me if I made up a rumor about Damian? Do you think I had something to do with his murder?”
“No, of course not,” George said. “I just want to know what is happening.”
Kerri placed her hand on Steve’s arm and shot a glare in her grandfather’s direction. “That could not possibly be what he’s saying. We know that Damian planned to leave from his social media posts. It looks like he wanted to bolt after leaving Chloe at the altar and didn’t think about leaving a forwarding address.”
“Steve, when did you first hear about Damian moving?” George asked.
“Word around work was that he resigned. That was confirmed when he came in to collect his things.”
“Did he actually say he’d quit when he came in?” Kerri asked.
“No. We didn’t talk about it. I went off on him about Chloe, and that was the end of the conversation. But he was packing things into a box.”
“Okay.” George nodded.
“I’m going to see if I can get my hands on his notes, on his computer. Maybe that will give me some kind of clue as to what he was working on.”
“Don’t the police have possession of that? I would think they would have searched everything.” Kerri glanced back at the picture of the ring on her phone.
“I checked with Chief Meyers. He said they never found a laptop. But if I can crack Damian’s password, then I might be able to get into his cloud storage.”
“Great idea.” George nodded. “I can help you with that.”
“How?” Steve eyed him for a moment.
“Let’s just say I have some experience wit
h password cracking.” He smiled and picked up the bottle of wine. “More wine, Steve?”
“Sure.” Steve regarded him with suspicion as George poured the glass of wine. “Did the post office really just give you the information.”
“Yes. Let’s just say I am going to get all the information I can when I need it in order to solve this.”
“That’s how I am when working on a story.” Steve took a sip of his wine. “I can respect that.”
“Good.” George set the wine bottle back down. “I’ve got a pie for dessert, but it needs to bake for about an hour.”
“Oh, that’s plenty of time for me to give a few extra nuts to the squirrel,” Kerri said.
Cashew jumped up from her bed in the corner, as if she knew that they were about to go outside.
“I think that dog loves that squirrel as much as you do, Kerri.” George chuckled as he stood up from the table.
“Let me get the dishes.” Steve started to gather them.
“No way. Out of my kitchen, well out of Kerri’s kitchen.” George cleared his throat. “I make the mess, I clean it up.”
“But…”
“No, trust me, it’s best not to argue with him.” Kerri tugged Steve towards the door. The sun was just setting and the woods were quiet. “There he is! Oh, he’s off, let’s see if we can catch him.” She led Steve down the path that she and Cashew usually took. Cashew ran ahead of them, with high-pitched barks as she chased after the squirrel. Within minutes they were much deeper in the woods than she ever intended to go.
“Maybe we should turn back.” Steve grasped her hand a little tighter. “It’s getting dark, and we’re getting far from the house.”
“Don’t worry, I walk this path all of the time. It goes right up to the lot across from the shop.”
“You mean where Damian’s body was found?”
