by Renee George
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I told Brady. “Can you stay with Michele?” More quietly, I added, “I’m worried she’ll throw herself on Roger to protect the little asshole.”
Brady shook his head but smiled. “I’m on the job.”
I rapped on the Sheriff’s door.
“Come in,” he said.
I opened the door. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin dull.
“Hey, Sid, can I talk to you for a minute?”
He waved me in. “Come inside, Willy. You can close the door behind you.”
I took a seat in the chair opposite his desk. I’d never been good at easing into a conversation, so I shot straight from the hip. “I mentioned Evelyn’s murder to President Stenson, and he’s asked me to get involved. I don’t want to step on your toes. I’m hoping we can work together on this.”
Sid slid his chair back and steepled his fingers. His gray and black eyebrows squished together and apart as he studied me. I didn’t flinch. It wasn’t the first time I’d been placed in the hot seat, and I was certain it wouldn’t be the last.
“I don’t like the Tri-State Council poking its nose in town business.”
“I understand your feelings. I’d be upset if outside law enforcement tried to hound in on one of my investigations. However, I’m here, and I’m willing to help.”
“Would you like some coffee?” He stood up and topped off his cup from a pot on a small stand in the corner of his cramped office.
“No, thanks. I try to limit my caffeine to early mornings. Just enough to peel my eyes open.” Unless I was on a stakeout. Otherwise, too much caffeine during the day gave me the jitters.
He turned back around and peered at me with his stormy gray eyes. “If the council wants you to investigate, I won’t stand in your way.”
“Will you give me access to your investigation?”
He glowered. “Yes.”
“This could be a good thing, Sid. Maybe you should take a step back. It’s hard to be objective investigating the death of a loved one.”
“You didn’t have a problem investigating when Jerry Blackwell was killed last June.”
I had dated Jerry for a couple of months before the Jubilee and his horrifying death. We’d fought the day before his body was found behind Sunny’s Outlook. He’d been skinned alive, his eyes taken in the process. I shuddered. “True, but I didn’t love Jerry.” Hell, I’d barely felt his loss at all, which probably made me a terrible person.
“I didn’t love Evelyn.”
“She’s your sister-in-law.”
“I can be objective, Willy.” He sat down and scooted back up to his desk. “Thank you for the courtesy call. Farraday can give you access to Evelyn Meyers files.”
I knew a dismissal when I heard it. “Did you all find anything of interest at her home? Anything suspicious?”
Sheriff Taylor shook his head. “Nope.”
Had he looked at her bank records? His short answer told me he was done talking. Besides, I could read about anything they found in the documentation. I left Sid’s office and walked out into the main staging area just as Tyler Thompson came into the room from the back. He finished tucking in his uniform shirt. I heard a toilet flushing down the hall. He looked at me then at Brady with a curious expression. Then he saw his sister. “What are you doing here?”
Michele burst into tears. Brady groaned. I shuffled uncomfortably and headed over to Farraday.
“And...and...” I heard Michele say, along with a series of hiccups, “she beat him up and had him arrested!”
“She didn’t beat me up,” Roger complained.
“Quiet, you,” Tyler ordered the young man.
“And he’s not arrested,” I said. “He’s just being questioned. And the only reason I took him down--” Michele turned her face into her brother’s chest and ignored me. “Never mind.” I placed my palm down in front of Roger. “Why’d you try to run Evelyn down?”
“I didn’t,” the boy denied. “I...” He glanced at Michele and back to me. “I was working.”
“Uh huh.” I tisked. “What kind of work do you do?”
He scooted down in his chair. “This and that.”
“This and that must be very profitable,” I said. “Those are one-hundred and fifty-dollar jeans, your shoes are at least a hundred dollars...” I whistled. “And that sweet ride.” I shook my head. “I’m thinking I need to change professions. What kind of experience do you need for a job in this and that?”
“You’re a real bitch.”
“And you’re a real gentlemen,” I shot back. How could Michele see anything good in this guy?
“Apparently, you need a broader vocabulary,” added Eldin.
Roger glared at him. “I want a lawyer.” He crossed his arms as if he’d won some small victory. “I’m not saying another word until I speak to a lawyer.”
“Do you have a lawyer?” Eldin asked.
Roger’s face reddened. “I know my rights.”
“Someone has spent a little too much time watching Law & Order.” I flicked the back of Roger’s head. “You aren’t under arrest, asshole. Besides,” I looked at Eldin, “do you guys even have lawyers in Peculiar?”
“Not since Neville Lutjen.”
“That’s not strictly true,” Brady said. “I’m still licensed in the state of Missouri. But I specialized in tax law, not criminal.”
My mouth dropped open. I used the back of my hand to close it. “I thought you were a handyman.”
“I’m handy, too.”
“I don’t want Mr. Corman as my lawyer.” Roger turned his back to Brady. That’s when I noticed a cut in his hairline by his right temple, and a bruise colored his right cheek.
“You get in a fight with Evelyn Meyers when you killed her?” I pressed my fingertip into the bruise. “Did she fight back?”
“I didn’t kill her,” he said again.
“How did you manage to stage the body? You had her pinned up like a prom dress.”
“Leave him alone,” Michele cried.
Sheriff Taylor stepped out of his office. “Thompson, take your sister home.”
“No,” the moon-eyed teenager protested. “I’m not leaving him. Roger!” she shouted as Tyler backed her toward the exit. “Roger!”
The boy moaned and slumped down even more.
Once the front door closed behind Tyler and Michele, Roger’s whole demeanor changed. “If I tell you the truth, will you keep it just between us? Michele can’t know.”
I tapped the desk in front of Roger. “Kid, if you killed Ms. Meyers, everyone’s going to know.”
“I didn’t...Gah!” He threw up his hands. “I was with Karina Wells yesterday afternoon. She’s the one who almost ran over Ms. Meyers.”
“You better explain,” Eldin said.
“I broke it off with Karina a month ago. She called me yesterday morning and told me she had to talk to me. Now, I don’t want to mess up anything with Michele, so I tell her, no, but then Karina says she pregnant, and I’m like, bullshit. She tells me that if I don’t meet her in the afternoon, she’s going to tell Michele that I’m still sleeping with her, which is a fucking lie.”
“You really do need to broaden your vocabulary,” I said. “Go on.”
“Anyway, I agree to meet with her at Coyote Creek.”
I looked at Brady. “It’s a park on the west side of town just after the road dead ends. It has some picnic areas and hiking trails,” he explained.
“Cool.” I focused back on Roger. “Then what?”
“The bit—er, Karina told me she wasn’t pregnant, she just wanted to see me. I told her to piss off. She grabbed my car keys and jumped into the driver seat. I got in the passenger side when she started it up. She drove like a maniac all the way through town hoping someone would see us together and tell Michele, but it was a waste of time because my windows are tinted darker than factory spec.”
“You need to remove the tint on the front door windows and the winds
hield,” Eldin said. “As it is, you are looking at a fine.”
“So, you believe me?” The color began to return to his face as a trickle of sweat slid down in front of his ear.
“Why did Karina jump the curb at Evelyn?”
Roger scowled. “That was my fault. I was trying to get her to pull over. She let go of the wheel when I jerked it my way, and the car went out of control. You can see why I don’t want Michele to find out.”
“Look, fella, I’m not a priest, and this isn’t confession. I get that you are worried your girl is going to see you as a lying scumbag, but I can’t guarantee what you say won’t come out in the course of the investigation.” I walked around to the other side of him. “Where were you between six-thirty and eight-thirty?”
“I took Michele home from rehearsal, and I ran a few errands.”
“Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts?” Eldin asked.
The kid moved his gaze from Eldin to me and then to Brady. He sighed. “No.”
I touched his bruise again. “Who knocked you around?”
Roger tried to swat my hand away, but I moved it away before he made contact. “Too slow,” I told him. “I’m going to ask you again, who did you have a fight with?”
“I ran into a door,” he said. The set of his jaw told me I wouldn’t get any more information from Roger.
I nodded to Eldin. “Thanks for letting me play in your sandbox.”
The deputy smiled. “I’ll be Lacey to your Cagney anytime, Willy.”
Brady’s hand wrapped my upper arm. He leaned down and said, “Can I talk to you privately?”
My belly got jittery under his hard stare. What had I done wrong? “I...okay.”
Eldin jerked his thumb behind toward the back. “Breakroom’s at the back of the hall.”
Brady took my hand and practically dragged me back to the room. He closed the door behind us.
“I’m really sorry if I did something--”
He shut me up with a kiss that made my knees wobble and my thighs quake. I wrapped my hands behind his neck to keep myself off the floor. His warm lips parted over mine, his tongue sweeping my tonsils, and hot damn, I thought I would faint as elation overwhelmed me. He finally eased back, his kissing growing softer, gentler until we were staring into each other’s eyes like horny teenagers.
He pressed his forehead to mine. “Wow,” he said, his throat hoarse with lust. “I never knew a game of good cop bad cop could be so sexy.”
I smirked. “I have handcuffs and a nightstick if you want an encore.”
A knock on the door parted us. Eldin asked, “Do you have any more questions for Roger?”
“No,” I told him. “Not right now.” I had a lot more investigating to do. Every answer created more questions.
“Okay. I’m letting him go for now then.”
“Sounds good.” I raised my brows at Brady who was still giving me the “I’m gonna rock your world stare.”
He took my hand and brought my fingers to lips. “I think we can still make dinner.”
My stomach growled. “I could eat, and then maybe after we could...”
“Go to Ruth’s for pie?”
I guess we were still taking it slow, but damn, every bit of me wanted to be touching every bit of him. I hid my disappointment with a smile. “Sounds perfect.”
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, I awoke at eight-fifty with a kink in my neck and an ache in my chest. Brady had given me a sweet kiss when I’d walked him out to his truck, but it had lacked the intensity of our break room make-out. I crawled out of bed and headed down the hall to the bathroom. The door was unlocked. Sleepily, pushed it open.
“Hey!” Leroy shouted, dropping a comic book over his lap.
“Shit, sorry.” I closed the door. I’d lived by myself for so long it hadn’t occurred to me I’d walk in on someone on the pot. Leroy was Emma Ray’s twin, which meant he was seventeen. I raced back to Dakota’s room, praying I hadn’t scarred the boy for life. Hans would have needed therapy if a stranger walked in on him pooping.
Ten minutes later, Ruth knocked on my door. “Coast is clear,” she said. “Leroy took off with some friends.”
I opened the door. “I’m so sorry! I woke up late and forgot about the schedule.”
“After eight the bathrooms are all fair game. First come, first serve.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about Leroy. He lives in a house full of girls, and that’s not the first time he’s been walked in on. That’ll teach the boy to lock the door next time.”
“Is the coast clear now? I really have to pee.”
“It’s all yours.” Ruth walked to the bedroom window.
Sunrays bathed her face in a way that made her look as if she were caught in an Instagram filter that highlighted her dainty femininity. Ruth was as pretty on the inside as she was on the out. I’d never had a friend quite like her. Most of the women I hung with were real ball-busters. I loved them, but they were blunt as hell with the way they talked. Hell, with the way they lived their lives. Ruth was subtle, more mom-like, but just as honest.
She propped herself against the windowsill. “It’s nice to see Brady happy.” She paused and then looked like she wanted to say more. Instead, she shook her head. “I’ll leave you to it. I have coffee and cinnamon rolls downstairs.”
I smiled. “Best bed and breakfast ever.”
She chuckled, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “Ruth, is everything okay?”
“Do you really think Roger Parks had anything to do with Evelyn’s murder?”
I answered honestly. “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s hiding something. I just don’t know what.”
“I’m afraid for Michele.” She nibbled at the side of her thumbnail. “I never liked the boy, but I didn’t think he was dangerous, not really. Besides, I learned long ago that I can’t choose who my children want to love. And while I didn’t think things would last between her Roger, I worry that she’ll somehow romanticize what happened last night. That it will make her want him more.” Ruth sighed, the worry creasing her brow. “Michele, out of all my kids, has a wild streak in her, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Especially bad boys.”
I snorted and immediately regretted it as Ruth cast me a look of disapproval. “Sorry. It’s just that I understand Michele far better than I want to. When I was her age, I was Michele. Really, up until last year. Inappropriate men were my thing.” The fact that I was crazy for a man who might be emotionally unavailable told me it might still be my thing. “I can’t tell you not to worry, but Michele is a smart girl. I have a feeling she’ll make the right decision when it comes to Roger Parks.” Especially if she accidentally found out about his rendezvous with a certain ex-girlfriend. Just sayin’.
“You think so?” The same features that made her look delicate, also made her look vulnerable.
“I know so.” I stood up and gave her a hug, my bladder complaining the entire time. I pressed my thighs together. “Now, I really need to use the bathroom.”
*****
Near noon, I headed to the Sheriff’s Department. I wanted to look over their notes and evidence to see if it might add to anything I’d uncovered about Evelyn’s death, which frankly wasn’t much. It was hard trying to solve a crime where half the town were suspects. I needed to nail down alibis to eliminate the most obvious people.
Michael Connelly was working with Tyler Thompson. The sheriff was conspicuously absent.
I gave Deputy Thompson a nod. “Afternoon. Didn’t you work last night?”
“Only a half shift. We’re short of staff these days, but more hours mean more money.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He grinned. “My wife Darla is pregnant again.”
“Congratulations.” I clapped him on the back. “That’s great news.” I looked around for an empty desk. “Did the sheriff let you know I’d be helping with the investigation?”
“Yes. He said to give you anything you needed.
”
“I hope you all don’t think I’m overstepping.”
“Frankly, I’m exhausted,” Tyler said. “I don’t mind the extra set of hands.”
“Me either,” said Connelly. “We used to have a few more deputies, but after the skinnings last year, a few of them quit to seek other employment. I considered it myself, actually, but when there aren’t any serial killers running loose, Peculiar is actually a pretty easy town to police.”
“Is there an empty desk I can use for now?”
“Take that one over there.” Tyler pointed at an empty one near the wall. “It hasn’t been occupied for a while. If you need a computer, you can use mine.”
“Right now, I just need the files. I’d really like to see where you all are at and go from there.”
“You got it.” Connelly grabbed a shallow box from his desk and put it on the one they’d given me. “Eldin put it all together. He said you might be coming in today.”
“He’s a righteous cop,” I said.
Connelly smiled. “Yeah, good dude.”
The first thing I looked at was the report of Evelyn’s house. It was sparse. The notes indicated there was nothing in the home to suggest the murder took place there. And there was no obvious evidence found to indicate a motive or suspect. I guess the bank ledger wasn’t suspicious to anyone but me. I saw Connelly’s name on the report.
“Michael, did you participate in the search of the Meyers’ house?”
“Yes.”
“Did you guys find anything out of the ordinary? Nothing is noted in the report.”
“No. Just basic office stuff.” He shrugged. “Why?”
Because I found a ledger indicating Evelyn Meyers was worth a small fortune when I illegally searched her place before you. Thanks to Sunny. The Peculiar police were playing nice with me, and I didn’t want to jeopardize my relationship with them by admitting what I’d done. “No reason.” I sighed. Well, fuck me.
I moved on to the crime scene notes next. There had been a small amount of blood on the stage a few feet from where the body had been placed. Was that where she’d been stabbed? I rummaged through the pictures. Eldin had done a thorough job of documenting the scene, but I didn’t see anything new that I hadn’t already seen watching the video I took.
