by Rose Pressey
“They went in there.” I pointed.
“Can we get to them?”
The smaller buildings had doors on each side. Cutting through the building would be a shortcut. “Maybe if we go through this one it will come out of the other side and we’ll be close enough to the building they’re in that we can listen.”
Claire Ann nodded. It seemed we had a plan. Opening the old weather-beaten wooden door, I stepped inside the small building first. It was empty, just a concrete floor and walls. I wasn’t sure what the place had been used for. I motioned for Claire Ann to follow me out the door on the other side. With only two small windows and the two doors to let in light, I practically had to feel my way to the other side.
When we stepped out to the other door, I walked over to the next building. Claire Ann shadowed close behind me. When we got to the little window, I peeked in, but I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. If they weren’t in there, then where were they? How could they have gotten away so quickly? I gestured for Claire Ann to follow me again. We would have to check around the other side of the building. There were just too many little buildings around this place. When I stepped to the front, I spotted yet another small building. They had to be in there.
“We have to check that one out. They have to be there.” I pointed.
Claire Ann nodded. “That or they’re hiding from us.”
We walked around to the other building. When I peeked inside the tiny window, I didn’t see the women in there either. This was crazy. Where else could they be? How had they disappeared? Then I heard the voices. Claire Ann and I looked at each other in panic. It sounded as if they were headed our way.
“What do we do now?” Claire Ann whispered.
If we didn’t get out of there, we would for sure be caught.
I scanned the area, trying to think of what to do next. Our only option was to hide in one of the buildings and hope that Connie and Julian didn’t come in there and find us. Motioning Claire Ann over, I moved inside the building. The door had been open, so I decided to leave it that way. Connie or Julian might notice if it was now suddenly closed. Plus, it would have been too dark if the door was closed. The place was already spooky as it was—I didn’t want to add to that feeling. After stepping inside, Claire Ann and I huddled by the wall and waited.
I was probably holding my breath and didn’t even realize it. Claire Ann was staring down at her feet, probably praying that we’d soon get out of there.
Just then the door slammed shut and darkness blanketed the area. Claire Ann reached out and found my arm. I was surprised that she hadn’t screamed. I was surprised that I hadn’t screamed. How had the door closed? There hadn’t been any wind. Was someone in there with us? I held Claire Ann’s hand. My mind raced trying to think what we were going to do next.
“We have to move over to the door,” I whispered.
I guessed no one was in there with us, since they didn’t react to me speaking.
“Okay. I’ll move first since I’m closest to the door,” Claire Ann said calmly.
When we reached the door, Claire Ann pushed. It didn’t budge.
“Oh my God. We’re stuck in here,” she said with panic in her voice.
“It can’t be stuck,” I said, pushing on the door.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
I tried to remain calm so that I could think clearly. But I had no idea how we would get out of there. We’d both left our phones in the car. It wasn’t like we could call for help.
At least my eyes had adjusted to the light now because I could see a little more. I remembered that there were two small windows on each side of the building.
“There’s a window over there.” I left Claire Ann’s side and moved over to the window.
I reached out and shoved on the sill. To my surprise it opened.
“You think you can get out of there?” she asked.
I pointed at Claire Ann. “Not me, you.”
She shook her head. “No way. I’m taller than you. You can use me to give you a boost.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If I give you a boost we’ll still have the same amount of height.”
She frowned. “You can climb better than me.”
“Fine. I’ll do it. We can’t stay in here, it’s getting hot.”
Claire Ann stood next to the window and clamped her hands together. I placed my foot on her hands and jumped up, grabbing the windowsill. I shoved half of my body out.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I groaned. “I’m getting too old for this kind of stuff.”
“You just turned thirty-two,” she said.
“Yeah, being over twenty means I’m too old for this,” I said. “I think I’m stuck. Give me a little push.”
She placed her hands on my butt and shoved. I managed to get my leg over and my body turned around. I didn’t even know that I could bend that way. I landed on the ground with a light thud.
“Are you okay?” Claire Ann asked.
I brushed dirt from my pants. “Yeah, I don’t think I broke anything.”
“Good, now get me out of here before I have a heat stroke,” she said.
I had no idea if Connie and Julian were around, but if they saw me, I would just have to confront them. If that happened, I hoped it didn’t turn out badly. I glanced around and didn’t see them so I ran toward the door. What if I couldn’t get it open? We’d be in real trouble then.
I reached the door and still hadn’t spotted either woman. I turned the knob and just as I’d feared, the door didn’t budge.
“What happened?” Claire Ann’s voice grew louder.
I didn’t want her to panic, so I didn’t say anything. Although I was already starting to panic. I grasped the knob again and pulled. This time the door opened and I stumbled back. I landed on the ground. Claire Ann reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet.
“That was a close one. I thought we would die in there.” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
“I don’t even want to think about that.”
“Speaking of dying, where are Julian and Connie?” Claire Ann peeked around the edge of the building.
“I don’t know,” I said. “They’re not anywhere around here.”
Tiptoeing across the pavement, we went over to the side of the building. No one was there. It was like a ghost town.
“I think we need to get out of here,” Claire Ann said.
She was clearly spooked now. And she wasn’t alone in that feeling.
“How do you think that door closed?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think it was the wind.”
“What else could it have been?”
“I don’t know.”
My thoughts turned to Julian and Connie. They probably knew that we’d been in that building. Had one of them closed the door on us? That was when the thought hit me. It was just like when I had been in Dumpster. I had thought it was the wind or a faulty lid, but I knew that wasn’t the case. After all, Connie worked at Coco’s now. She could have been there that day and I wouldn’t have known. But why would she do that to me? Did she think I would find out that she had killed Luke and Darcy? Sure, I was jumping to conclusions, but it wasn’t a stretch to think that could be the case.
Claire Ann and I finally made it back to her car. Of course Connie and Julian’s cars were both gone. We quickly got out of there before either one of the women returned.
Chapter Twenty
After Claire Ann dropped me off at my house, I jumped in my car and headed for town. I wanted to check something out. Maybe it would lead to nothing, but I still was curious.
I thought about the day I’d bumped into Ross coming out of Luke Lexington’s office. I thought about meeting Darcy and then my thoughts turned to Connie. She had appeared out of nowhere. She was kind of strange like that. Why had she been standing around? That was when it hit me—she had probably been working at Coco’s at the time.
I wondered what the owner of Coco’s thought about the murders. It had to be a little distressing working so close to the crime scene. I wondered if she had seen anything unusual. They might have a security camera at the store. Would it have caught anything strange?
I’d met the owner of Coco’s a couple times. Her name was Liz Yates and she’d lived in Honeysuckle all her life. She was nice and I wondered if she would tell me anything if I went to talk to her. There was only one way to find out. I had to make sure I went at a time when Connie wasn’t there. Since she had worked this morning I figured it was a safe bet that she wouldn’t be there now. I decided to hop in the Mustang and stop in Coco’s for a quick visit.
I parked in front of the store. Apprehension set in as I worried if Connie would really be there. Why did I let that woman freak me out so much? I stepped into the store and was relieved when I didn’t see her. I spotted the owner at the back of the store. She waved and continued helping the other customer. I hoped they wouldn’t be too long so that I would get a chance to talk with her.
In the meantime I would look around the store. At least now I didn’t have Connie following me around. I picked up a few items and kept glancing at the back of the store to see if they were finished.
I wandered around the store a little longer and finally the customer walked to the register and paid for the item. Finally I would get my chance to talk to the owner. Liz walked over to me. I was sure she had noticed that I was staring her way.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
She was so nice. I had never bought anything but she still treated me like any other customer.
“I was just looking around,” I said.
She must have noticed the pause in my voice. She nodded. “Well, if you need help let me know.”
I looked around the shop more. For some reason I couldn’t quite think of what to ask Liz. How would I approach the topic? Should I just burst out with the questions? Liz looked my way again and offered a smile. I figured this was my chance. I had to ask now. I stepped closer to her. “It’s been a little crazy around Honeysuckle lately, huh?” I said. That wasn’t the best way to ask, but at least it was out there now.
She stared at me for a moment and then nodded. “It has been stressful.” She knew what I was talking about.
I had to have a reason for wanting to see the security tapes. I couldn’t just come out and ask for them. Surely the police had already looked into that. “I hope they catch the killers soon,” I said. I wondered if she suspected me of the murders too. If she did she hadn’t acted like it yet. I moved closer to the counter where she was busy placing price tags on items.
“Did you happen to notice anything that day?” I asked.
She frowned. “I’m afraid not. I was in the back of the store working. Connie was here and had just come back from her break.”
So Connie didn’t have an alibi for the time of the murder.
Now I really needed to see those security tapes. But what would that really show me? I already knew that Connie had been out there during the murders.
“You know, my friend lost her wallet right at that time.”
She quirked a brow. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes, it was right out here in front of your store.”
Okay, that excuse sounded really lame. I wouldn’t blame her for not believing me.
“Did you happen to notice if anyone lost a wallet? I wondered if someone turned it in.” Yeah, Liz probably wondered why I would be asking this question now. “She just now realized that she’d lost it.” The more I talked the worse it sounded.
Liz stared at me for a moment as if she didn’t believe me in the least.
“Someone may have taken it from her purse while she was in here.”
Liz continued to stare at me. “Well, that’s terrible.”
I nodded. “Yes, it is. Do you think you have security footage of someone who may have taken it?”
“You know, that happened to be the day the police looked at the tapes for the murderer. But nothing was recorded. The camera didn’t work that day.”
My face probably showed my disappointment.
“You’re in luck though because I just happened to get the tapes to work. I called the police so they can take a look but they haven’t showed up yet.”
This really was my lucky day.
“If you’ll give me a second I can pull them up on my iPad.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
I was bursting with excitement. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but it was a start. And I was going to get to see the footage before the police. That would probably make Kent upset, but did he really need to know that I’d seen them before him?
Liz walked into the back area, leaving me alone at the counter. I hoped that Connie didn’t show up. I really didn’t want to deal with her. Plus I wouldn’t be able to explain why I was looking at the security footage.
Liz returned with her iPad. “Here it is,” she said, motioning for me to step closer. I moved over beside her and waited while she pulled up the footage. My heart rate increased as I waited to see what would happen.
The footage started by showing Connie leaving the store. She turned to the right in the direction of Luke’s office. It was probably about twenty minutes before the murder had occurred. That would have given her plenty of time to commit the crime.
“I don’t see anyone walk in front of the store,” Liz said.
At that time Connie came back into the store. I watched her behavior, but honestly she wasn’t acting any stranger than she always did.
“Oh, wait, there you are,” Liz said, pointing at the screen.
I had forgotten that the footage would show me looking in the window, practically drooling. It was slightly embarrassing. So the tape hadn’t shown me anything that I hadn’t known before. Well, other than that Connie didn’t have an alibi. I wished that there had been more to go on.
Liz rewound the footage, probably to watch the stupid look on my face again. She backed up to the spot where Connie had returned. I looked over at Liz. She had a strange look on her face. What had she noticed? She replayed the footage one more time. This time I watched closer. And I noticed what she was looking at. How could I have missed it? Connie looked as if she was hiding something under her shirt. Could it have been the murder weapon? There was no way to know for sure.
What else would she be hiding under her shirt though?
Liz met my gaze and chuckled. “Connie can be a strange character sometimes.”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ve noticed. It looked as if she was hiding something under her shirt.”
Liz shook her head. “I think that was just the angle of the camera.”
How could she say that? There was no way that it was anything other than an object under Connie’s shirt. By the look on Liz’s face I knew that she didn’t believe what she’d just said. I wouldn’t argue with her about it though. Why would she try to cover for Connie?
Maybe Liz didn’t want to admit that one of her employees could be a murderer. I would think she would want to know though. Wouldn’t she want to know who she was working with? I knew I would. Now I wondered if Liz would let the police see the footage or if she would act as if the tapes were still broken.
There was no way that I wouldn’t tell Kent. He would find this tidbit very interesting. Of course I’d have to explain to him how I had seen the footage before he had. I’d worry about that later though. “You said the police haven’t seen this yet?” I asked.
She shut off the iPad. “No, like I said, we thought that the camera was broken. But I did call them. I’m sure if they are interested they will come by.”
Liz was definitely acting as if she didn’t want the police to see the footage now. It was too late because I had seen it. And she had been the one to point it out to me. I hadn’t even noticed it at first.
“I’m sure they will find what they need,” she added.
I gave a half
-hearted smile. “Yes, I’m sure they will. Thank you for showing me the footage.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know if anyone turns in the wallet,” she said.
I furrowed my brow.
“Your friend’s wallet,” she said.
“Oh, yeah, sure. Thanks. I’m sure she would appreciate that.” My fake story had almost slipped my mind.
I had to figure out what to do with the information I’d just gotten. The bad part was there was no way to prove what Connie had been carrying under her shirt. I was pretty confident that it had been the murder weapon. I wondered what Connie would say if she saw that footage.
After seeing the footage I decided to go back behind the store once again. I hadn’t been back there since the Dumpster lid had slammed down on me. I had to get over that fear some time though. My desire to find good junk won over my fear of being locked in the trash bin. I figured I should be more concerned with being locked in, but I’d be the first to admit my thoughts weren’t always rational.
As I neared the Dumpster I spotted a small chair sitting next to it. It looked like a sad, lost little puppy.
Even better, I wouldn’t have to climb in the bin to retrieve it. Since I was still a little nervous I looked around to see if anyone was watching. The alleyway was like a ghost town.
The wooden chair had an upholstered seat. As I inspected it I realized the only reason someone had thrown it out was because the fabric had been ripped. Just in case, I sat on the chair to see if it would break and I’d land on my butt. Nope. It held me just fine. What a waste. I could replace the fabric and the chair would be good as new.
Before leaving with the chair I peeked over the side of the Dumpster. Scanning the contents, all I saw were bags of trash and cardboard containers. The best time to find anything at Coco’s was when new shipments arrived. If one of the new items had a little flaw, Liz would toss it. New shipments usually came every two weeks. Was it bad that I already knew the schedule? All was not lost though because I’d found the chair. I backed up from the Dumpster and picked up the chair.
As I turned to leave a rustle caught my attention. I froze on the spot because of course I thought back to the day when I’d been trapped in the Dumpster. Sure, it had only been a minute I’d been stuck, but it had still been scary.
