Maddie Cochere - Two Sisters and a Journalist 01 - Murder Under Construction

by Maddie Cochere

  Keith was disinterested and changed the subject. “Aunt Jo, I want to know about the dead girl. Why are you dreaming about her?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, “but the dreams seem important. I even had one about Marietta. She showed me a newspaper headline for some ancient burial grounds with a record number of visitors this year. I have no idea why she wanted me to see that.”

  Keith thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe she wants to be buried here. Maybe she’s from here, and she lived next door to a burial ground.”

  Kelly added to the conjecture. “Maybe she visited graves here. At midnight. She might have been a vampire. Was the knife in her chest wooden?”

  Our waitress delivered our food, and talk of Ruby stopped, but only for a few minutes.

  “Let’s not take the boat ride,” Kelly said. “Let’s find the burial ground and look for clues about Ruby.”

  “Yeah! I don’t want to ride the boat either,” Keith chimed in. “There’s nothing to see but water, and I want to look for clues, too.”

  Pepper started to argue, but I interrupted. “It will keep us from coming back later if we look around today. Besides, isn’t there some kind of famous burial mound around here? Like the Great Serpent Mound?”

  Our waitress was back to refill our drinks and said, “The Great Serpent Mound is between here and Cincinnati. It’ll take you a couple of hours to get there.”

  “Are there any ancient burial grounds here in Marietta?” I asked.

  “Most of the tourists go to Mound Cemetery on Fifth Street. Rufus Putnam and some other Revolutionary War soldiers are buried there. There’s one burial mound at the back of the cemetery. ”

  “Let’s go there,” Keith said. “We’ll find a ghost or Aunt Jo will have a vision or something.”

  “It’s worth taking a look,” I said to Pepper.

  She looked doubtful, but pointed her finger at the kids and said, “We can go, but you’re going to learn something while we’re there, so you have to read tombstones and take notes.”

  Keith rubbed his hands together with glee before shoving a handful of French fries into his mouth.

  I continued to enjoy my salad. I rarely ate fresh greens, and the salad tasted wonderful – probably more so because we were eating outdoors. The air seemed fresher here by the water, and I was glad I had made the decision to come today. I was definitely looking forward to going to the cemetery. There would be something to find there. I was sure of it.

  Half an hour later, we walked beneath the wrought iron archway and into Mound Cemetery.

  “Daylight hours only,” Keith said, reading the sign. “Who would want to come here at night? There are probably ghost soldiers still battling it out.”

  “You guys go ahead and do your thing,” I told Pepper. “I want to look around by myself for a while.”

  She led the kids down the path through the middle of the cemetery. I stepped off to the right with the intention of walking the perimeter first.

  The cemetery covered approximately two city blocks. Two-story century homes surrounded the plot of land on all four sides. Numerous trees within the cemetery provided patches of shade for relief from the hot sun.

  Some of the headstones were modern, but most were very old with interesting carvings. Some were askew. A feeling of sadness came over me for all of the people here who had gone before. It was somber to read engravings and see the graves of soldiers who fought so long ago.

  I thought about Ruby again. Was I in the right place? Was there something here at the cemetery I was supposed to see or find?

  I was starting to get depressed. The headstone of a sixteen-year-old boy proclaimed he had died in the Ohio River. A woman who was the secretary of the Northwest Territory only lived to thirty-six years of age. What happened to her? There was a headstone for a Revolutionary War soldier who had been the foreman of the first grand jury in Ohio.

  I gradually made my way to the back of the cemetery. Pepper and the kids were atop the burial mound. I considered walking up the stairs to catch up with them, but my legs were sore from too many squats last night. The more than thirty steep steps weren’t something I wanted to tackle today.

  Keith and Kelly waved. I raised my hand to wave back but quickly retracted my arm and walked away when Keith threw himself down on the ground and rolled down the mound. Everyone in the cemetery could hear Pepper screeching at him. A sign by the steps clearly stated the fine for climbing the mound and not using the steps was fifty dollars.

  I heard Keith yell, “I wasn’t climbing. The sign didn’t say anything about rolling.”

  I laughed to myself. That kid had an answer for everything. I suspected if Pepper wasn’t getting her blonde hair out of a bottle, she’d be full gray by now. I kept on walking to the other side of the cemetery.

  A small, open gate led to the sidewalk outside the wrought-iron fence. There was something in the middle of the sidewalk, but I couldn’t tell what it was. As I got closer, a creepy shiver came over my body like it used to in Mama’s basement. I whirled around so fast, I gave myself a tish of whiplash, but there was no one behind me.

  I stepped onto the sidewalk and stared at the object. It took a second for me to realize it was a newspaper. It was slightly rumpled, and dirt had caused it to look almost black on the exposed side. It was certainly out of place in the clean and well-manicured surroundings.

  I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Someone may have put it there as a joke, like the time I tried to pick up a quarter only to find it had been superglued to the sidewalk. The jerks in the Verizon office were entertained as they watched people bend over and try to pick up their stupid quarter.

  No one was around.

  I poked the paper with my foot. There was nothing under it, and nothing slithered out. I reached down and flipped it open. It was the business section of the local newspaper. The first article was about a florist. I could barely make out the article in the blackened area below the fold, but it appeared to be an about a potato chip manufacturer. I turned pages and scanned headlines, but there was nothing about Ruby Rosewell or Paula Radford.

  A city trash can was against the fence not five feet from me. I picked up the newspaper to throw it away when the date caught my attention. The first of July. The day Ruby was murdered. The creepy shiver revisited my body. There was no way this paper had been on the sidewalk since last Saturday, and no matter how irrelevant the articles, I knew as sure as I knew anything this paper was here for me to find. I folded it and shoved it inside my purse.

  I stepped back inside the gate and saw Pepper rushing the kids away from the mound. I chuckled. She had her hands full with those two.

  By the time I worked my way back to the front of the cemetery, Pepper and the kids were waiting for me on the sidewalk by the car.

  “Did you get fined?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if there are cameras and a ticket shows up in the mail.”

  Keith was still excited. “That was so much fun. It’s just a hill. I don’t know why we’re not allowed to roll down it.”

  Pepper sighed. “It’s a burial mound. There are Adena Indians buried there. It’s irreverent to climb or roll on it.”

  He didn’t agree. “There are stairs to climb, and we can walk on the top. And there are benches up there to sit on. Why can you do that but not climb on the other sides or roll down? That’s not fair.”

  Pepper didn’t have a good explanation. “It’s just the way it is, and if we get a ticket for fifty dollars, it’s coming out of your piggy bank.”

  “Did you have a vision, Aunt Jo?” Kelly asked. “Did you get another clue from Ruby?”

  I shook my head. “No vision. No clues. Not yet anyway. Did you guys find anything?”

  “I found Mozart,” Keith said. “He was decomposing.”

  Kelly punched him and said, “You did not.”

  He punched her back. “Did too.”

  “That’s enough,
you two,” Pepper said looking at her watch. “It’s only two o’clock. Let’s go to the Ohio River Museum. Since we missed the ride on the sternwheeler, we can at least tour one.”

  I decided not to say anything about the newspaper until I had time to read it more carefully. We piled into the car and headed for the museum.

  ~ ~ ~

  “I’d like to place an order for a dozen ribs and a side of coleslaw.”

  I regretted placing the order the second I hung up the phone, but I didn’t have the willpower to call back and cancel it. My mouth was already watering, and my taste buds would never forgive me if the ribs didn’t show up in twenty minutes.

  After two days of eating better and jiggling every globule of fat in my body on shaking machines while doing sumo squats, I did feel lighter and more energetic. It was a good start, but I couldn’t go cold turkey off everything I loved. And I loved Smitty’s ribs. The salad from lunch didn’t stay with me for very long, so tonight it was either ribs or an entire pizza. I considered the ribs the lesser of the two evils.

  I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and the Marietta newspaper from my purse. I wanted to look it over more carefully while I waited for the food.

  It was a thin section of newspaper with only eight pages. The first page definitely held no clues. Pages two and three had short business articles, four through six were the classifieds, and pages seven and eight were car dealership ads. I hoped I wouldn’t have to read every classified listing before finding a clue. I turned back to the two pages of articles.

  An accounting firm announced it had hired IT specialist, Mike Muller. Goodwill was scheduled to hold a job fair on Wednesday. Businessman Terry L. Cord was planning a run for mayor. A body shop was converting vehicles to run on natural gas. There were also tips for making repairs around the house before winter, shopping for lower insurance rates, and information for improving woodland habitats for wildlife if you lived on a wooded lot. That was it. There was nothing pertaining to Ruby or Paula in any of the articles.

  My head hurt just thinking about reading the classifieds, and I needed another beer. The comfy chair wasn’t stocked, so I headed for the kitchen.

  It was early evening, but it was darker than usual. Black clouds had moved in, and a storm was brewing. The wind whipped the dogwood trees in the back yard. As a precaution, I grabbed a lighter and a couple of emergency candles along with the beer.

  The doorbell rang. My mouth watered and my jaw hinges ached with anticipation of the ribs and coleslaw.

  I paid the man for the food, and gave him the exorbitant delivery fee, just as the first large drops of rain fell. The driver dashed to his car. I slammed my door and spread the goods out on the coffee table.

  With the beer opened and the candles lit, I chomped on the first rib. The meat was tender and fell off the bones. The sauce was incredible. How was I going to lose weight if I couldn’t give up Smitty’s ribs?

  I had two ribs down in under a minute. I should enter an eating contest. Forget losing weight, I could become a professional competitive eater. I had my mouth stuffed with the third rib when the red phone rang. I pitched the bone into the box and grabbed a napkin to wipe my fingers. My mouth was still full when I picked up the handset. “Two sitters and a jellist.”

  “What the hell is that?” Jackie asked with a laugh. “Is that the new name for your detective agency?”

  I managed to swallow most of the meat and said, “You caught me with my mouth full. Ribs from Smitty’s. And no swearing. We’re still not swearing.”

  “Hell isn’t swearing. It’s a proper noun. But lucky you with the ribs. Matt wanted meatloaf for supper, so we went to the diner.”

  I got right down to business and asked, “Did you find out anything today? We came up dry in Marietta.”

  “I checked into Telcor. The company is based in Germany, and they only have the one US office in Patterson. They deal in commercial property investments. They hold the property behind your house. The contractor backed out of the deal. That’s why construction stopped.”

  “What about Carol Bristol-Meyers?” I asked.

  “I have an address for her and her new husband. They bought a house on Treehorn Lake. I think we should go over there tomorrow and talk to her. Maybe she can tell us more about Telcor, and we can find out how she knew Paula.”

  Treehorn Lake was in Patterson. It wouldn’t take long to get there. “I have a date with Stewie at six. I’ll have to be back in time.”

  “He seems like a nice guy, Jo, and I think he’s funny. Why do you give him such a hard time?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer. Stewie was nice, but there was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He had a coldness that often exhibited itself in the office, and then there was the rude manner at the restaurant the other day. His charm seemed more an act than genuine, and I sometimes thought he might be an axe murderer with bodies piling up in his basement.

  “I don’t know,” I told her. “There’s no chemistry, and the thought of kissing him kind of disgusts me. This is going to be a big mistake.”

  She chuckled. “Go and keep an open mind. Give him a chance, and try to have a good time. Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

  Thunder rumbled overhead. It was followed by a loud crack from a nearby lightning strike. A second later, the only light in the room was from the candles I had lit earlier. Jackie was gone, and I didn’t know if my landline died or if she lost her cell signal.

  Talking with her had allowed the first few ribs to take the edge off my hunger, and I felt full. I had no desire to eat any more, and I was glad I hadn’t stuffed myself to the point of misery.

  I closed the box of ribs, grabbed the untouched coleslaw, and took both into the darkened kitchen. There was just a hint of light coming in from the living room. I stood still for a moment to be sure I had my bearings. Another lightning strike lit the room. My heart jumped, and I froze. Someone was looking in through the window over the sink.

  I couldn’t cry out. I couldn’t move. Terror had me rooted to the floor. Another lightning flash followed, but this time, no one was there. I tossed the food onto the counter and raced to the back door to be sure it was locked. I checked the door to the garage and the front door. All were locked. I fumbled for my cell phone in my purse. It was dead. I had no signal.

  The red phone! I picked up the handset and heard a dial tone. I tried to dial 911 but had my finger in the eight the first time and the zero the second time. I finally managed to dial 911.

  “What is your emergency?” the voice on the other end asked.

  “A prowler,” I said breathlessly. “I have a prowler outside my house.”

  I was scared. This was the first time I had ever been scared in my own home. I didn’t mind living by myself, and even with the dreams of Ruby, and the creepy feelings at times, I was never truly scared. But I was now. Who was outside in such a terrible storm, and why were they looking in my window?

  I couldn’t believe a full twenty minutes elapsed before an officer showed up at the door. As luck would have it, it was Officer Twit.

  “What happened, Jo?” he asked.

  “Obviously, the power’s out,” I said. “When I walked into the kitchen and lightning flashed, I saw a face at the window.”

  “Did you get a good look? Can you describe the guy?”

  “No. I don’t know if it was a man or a woman. The window was wet, and it was raining hard, but I could clearly make out facial features of eyes, nose, and a mouth. I’m positive someone was there.”

  He nodded his head. “Lock your door. I’ll take a look around.”

  I did as he instructed and waited. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but I didn’t think so. I saw a face, and in retrospect, I knew whoever it was saw me, too. They were looking directly at me.

  I sat on my sofa and shook. It would be a long time before my nerves were calmed down. I jumped when Officer Twit knocked on the door again.

  “I looked all over your pro
perty and didn’t see anyone. The rain’s too heavy to show any footprints, so all I can tell you is to keep your doors and windows locked, and call us back if you see anything else. I’ll come by a few times during the night and patrol the area.”

  I appreciated his concern, and I felt somewhat guilty for thinking of him as a twit. After he left, I took his suggestion to check all of the doors and windows. The candle illuminated my way as I climbed the stairs. The likelihood of someone getting in through an upstairs window was zero, but I wanted to be sure they were all locked.

  The windows in the two spare bedrooms were secure. My bedroom window was locked, too. I set the candle down on the dresser and looked out onto the western edge of the construction site. My heart began to race again. There was a light. A moving light. Probably a flashlight, and it was definitely moving toward the east where I had found Ruby. I dashed over to the murder room to look out, but stopped in my tracks.

  The window was open.

  Chapter Eight

  “Kelly, go get your Aunt Jo a blanket out of the hall closet.”

  “I’m afraid to go upstairs by myself,” she whined.

  Pepper was frustrated and raised her voice. “Keith, go with your sister, and hurry up.”

  The kids ran off with the flashlight lighting their way.

  She handed a towel to me. “Is there someone in your house right now?” she asked.

  My hair and clothes were soaked, and I was shaking as if I was on one of the machines at Figure Perfect. “I don’t know. When I saw the open window in the murder room, I ran out. I left a lit candle upstairs and one in the living room, but I’m not going back over there. The house can burn down.”

  Pepper tried her cell phone again. There was still no signal. “Does your red phone work?”

  “Yes, but I’m not kidding, Pepper. I’m not going back over there.”

  “I wish Buck was here,” she muttered under her breath.