by Kathi Daley
“No problem.” He waved as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you around.”
Salinger slid into the driver’s seat, then turned to look at me. “Who were you talking to?”
“His name’s Christopher. I didn’t catch a last name. He lives in the building.”
Salinger frowned.
“Hey, you said stay in the car and I stayed in the car,” I said, heading off any complaints. “He came over to me.”
“Did he know anything?”
“He said he saw Stella arguing with a man in a black Mustang at around midnight on Thursday. He didn’t get a license number, but he saw something hanging from the rearview mirror. He also saw Stella leaving her apartment on Friday afternoon. She told him she was going to get hammered. We know she went to Lucky’s; we just don’t know what happened after that.”
“The neighbor who lives beneath Stella heard her arguing with a man on Friday night. She’d been asleep, so she wasn’t sure what time it was, but she thought it must be late. She said it sounded like they were throwing things at each other. She considered calling the police to file a noise complaint, but then the arguing stopped and everything was quiet after that. The medical examiner puts time of death between midnight and four a.m. on Saturday morning. My guess is whoever Stella was arguing with is the person who killed her.”
“Too bad the neighbor didn’t follow her first instinct to call the police. Stella might be alive if she had.”
“Perhaps.”
“Did you find out anything else?” I asked.
“Most of Stella’s neighbors were out. I did speak to one woman who said she ran into her a week or so ago. Stella was dressed up and appeared to be going out on a date. She introduced her to the man she was with and she seems to remember the man’s name was David.”
“I don’t remember David as being one of the names from the dating site,” I said.
“It wasn’t. The last man she dated from the site was two weeks before her death. She must have met the man she was with that night some other way.”
I paused and looked back toward the building. It was two stories, with eight units on each floor. There was a covered parking garage off to one side and a covered walkway connecting the apartments to the garage. The man I’d spoken to had said the Mustang had been parked under a street lamp, so the car must have been parked on the street in front of the building. I wondered why Christopher had been walking there in the first place. If he’d parked in the garage and then taken the walkway to his apartment he wouldn’t have passed the Mustang at all. I supposed he might have gotten a ride home from work that night and been dropped on the sidewalk in front of the building.
“I’m sure you searched Stella’s apartment for physical evidence, but as long as we’re here, do you think we could take another look?”
“If I say no will you come back on your own?”
“Probably.”
Salinger opened his door. “Put your coat back on. It’s chilly out there.”
The first thing I noticed when I entered Stella’s apartment was a large bloodstain on the carpet. I wasn’t normally squeamish, but Catherine might be; I had to put my hand over my mouth to avoid losing my breakfast. The apartment looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in quite some time. Not only was there a sink full of empty wineglasses but there was a lamp on the floor and clothes lying on almost every piece of furniture. I bent down as much as my swollen belly would allow and looked under a chair. The colorful object I’d noticed there on further investigation turned out to be a Skittle. “You know what’s odd?” I asked. “The apartment is a mess, but the floor looks like it was vacuumed recently. In fact, if I had to guess I’d say it was vacuumed after Stella fell to the floor.”
“Why do you say that?” Salinger asked.
“There are clearly lanes created by the wheels and brush of the vacuum everywhere in the room except this one location.” I pointed to the spot on the carpet, where the large bloodstain had been left after the body was moved. “It almost looks as if someone vacuumed around the body after she was dead, or at least after she was lying on the floor.”
“Why would anyone do that?” Salinger asked.
“Maybe to hide evidence.” I looked around the room. “Let’s see if we can find the vacuum. Maybe whatever someone was trying to hide is still in the dust bag.”
As it turned out, the bag that should have been hanging on the back of the unit was missing. It looked like the killer was smart enough not only to clean up any evidence but to take it with him.
“Did you find the murder weapon?” I asked.
“Negative. The ME determined Stella was hit with a pointed object. It could even have been the corner of something. It’s possible the killer took the weapon with them.”
“I guess there really isn’t anything to find here. Thank you for humoring me.”
“Happy to do it if it will keep you out of trouble. I need to head back to the office, and then I’m going to have a conversation with Ron P. I’ll drop you back at your house on the way.”
“Actually, drop me by the Zoo instead, please. I want to check on a few things there, and I’m sure Jeremy will give me a ride home.”
Chapter 5
I couldn’t help but smile when I walked into the Zoo. I loved this place, but circumstances dictated that I hadn’t been able to spend as much time there as I would have liked. It was especially festive, with an artificial tree standing in the corner and red stockings with white brims hanging from the reception counter.
“I wasn’t expecting you in today,” Jeremy greeted when he joined me in the lobby, where I was looking through adoption forms.
I picked up one of the puppy ornaments we were giving away this year from the basket on the counter and hung it on the tree. So far, I hadn’t participated in the decorating at all, so now I could say I had. “I wasn’t planning to come in, but no one’s at home and I was bored. How are we doing with the reindeer roundup?”
“I’ve spent a good part of the morning driving around looking for the tricky beasts, but they’re a lot wilier than you’d think. Tank and Gunnar managed to round up two more this morning and are on their way to your place to drop them off. That means we’re halfway there.”
“If the deer took off into the woods they’re going to be hard to track.”
“It seems as if the deep snow has them sticking to the roads and the open areas in town. With any luck, we’ll have the other four home by the end of the day.”
“I hope so.” I couldn’t help but worry about the animals, who’d been bred and raised in captivity and weren’t used to the dangers that could be found in the wild. “How’s the bear cub that was brought in from the fire down south doing?”
“Better. I was worried about her at first, but she’s healing nicely.”
I paused to straighten a large red bow. “And the dog and cat adoption clinic?”
“Successful. I think we should find homes for most of the domestic animals by Christmas. If things go as planned I’m going to give Tiffany a few days off. Tank and Gunnar agreed to hold down the fort over Christmas, and if all they need to keep an eye on are the bears, it should be easy for them to handle things.”
“Sounds workable. Are you still going down south to spend Christmas with Jessica’s family?” I asked, referring to Jeremy’s wife.
“We leave on the twenty-second,” Jeremy confirmed. “Personally, I’d rather spend Christmas at home, but Jess is excited about the trip and I want to make her happy.”
“I’m sure you’ll have fun. It’s important to be with family at Christmas.”
“I guess. I try to avoid my family at all costs, but Jessica is a lot closer to hers.”
I picked up a stack of mail. “I’m sure her family will go out of their way to make you feel welcome. If not, it’s only for a few days. I’m going into my office to check on a few things. Can you run me home in an hour or so?”
“Yeah, no problem. You didn’t bring your car?”<
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“Salinger dropped me off. He doesn’t want me looking in to Stella’s death on my own, so he’s letting me tag along with him.”
“Does he have any leads?”
“Nothing concrete, but I’m working on a few ideas too. You don’t happen to know anyone in town who drives a black Mustang, do you?”
“Cory Wood bought a Mustang a year or so ago. Why?”
“Stella was seen arguing with a man in a black Mustang the night before she died. Does Cory still work at the auto repair shop?”
“As far as I know. You don’t think Cory killed Stella?”
I shrugged. “Probably not. But if he was with her on Thursday night he might have some idea why she ended up dead on Friday night.”
“If you’re going to talk to him I’m going with you. We’ll stop by the auto shop on the way to your place.”
******
Vern’s Auto Repair had been around since before I was born, located in an old building I was certain was held together with grease from all the cars that had been worked on over the years. Vern was an old-school mechanic who liked to work on the older model cars, but he’d hired several mechanics fresh out of school to take care of the newer-model vehicles that required a knowledge of the computers they were equipped with.
“Can I help you?” a man I didn’t recognize asked.
“We’re here to speak to Cory,” Jeremy answered.
“He’s on a break. Come back in thirty minutes, or you can look for him at the diner next door.”
We decided to try the diner, where we found him sitting in a booth by himself. Jeremy greeted him and we slid into the booth across from him. The distance between the seat back and the table was tight, and I found I had to sit sideways to make room for Catherine.
“So, how can I help you?” Cory asked after taking a large bite of his M&M pancakes, which were piled high with whipped cream. Talk about sugar overload.
“Zoe’s looking in to Stella Green’s death. We heard you’d spoken to her recently and hoped you might have some insight into what was going on in her life,” Jeremy began.
Cory squinted his eyes, as if he were trying to make up his mind about me. “I know you aren’t a cop. Were you a friend of Stella’s?”
“We went to high school together, but we hadn’t stayed in touch. She left me several phone messages on the day she died. I never got back to her and I feel bad about that and want to try to help find her killer.”
Cody leaned forward. “What exactly is it you want to know?”
“I spoke to one of Stella’s neighbors who informed me that he saw you speaking to her on Thursday night.”
“Yeah; so?”
“The neighbor said it appeared as if you were arguing.”
Cory took a deep breath. “Is that what this is all about? Someone saw me arguing with Stella and now you think I killed her?”
“Did you?” I asked.
“Of course not. I worked late on Thursday, trying to fix a transmission that was determined to stay broken. I was tired and frustrated, so I stopped off at Lucky’s for a pint before I went home. Stella was there and I sat down next to her, but as soon as we started talking I realized she was hammered. I didn’t want her driving home in that condition, so I carried her out to my car and drove her to her apartment. Of course she was royally pissed. She kept insisting she was fine and wasn’t ready to go home, but I’d seen her go down that path before, so I wasn’t buying it. By the time we got to her building I’d had enough and let her have it. Verbally, not physically. Other than carry her to my car, I never touched her.”
“Did she say anything that might explain why she ended up dead and who might have killed her?” I asked.
Cory rubbed his jaw. “She did keep going on about some guy hassling her, in the context of trying to convince me that she had a good reason for getting drunk. I figured it was just some lame excuse for doing what she wanted to do. I used to be good friends with her brother, so I’ve known her for quite a while. She went through a bad breakup a while back and sank into a really dark place. We ran into each other then, and I felt sorry for her, so I tried to help. I even helped get her a job at the place my mom works. I thought she was doing better; then I saw her at the bar and realized she was up to her old tricks.”
“So your mom must be the bookkeeper at the holiday store,” I said.
“Yeah, so?”
“The owner of the store just told me the son of her bookkeeper was responsible for getting Stella her job there. Did Stella give you any indication of the identity of the man who was hassling her?” I asked.
“She didn’t say, but I know she was hanging out with a guy called Docker. I don’t know his real name, but he works at Lucky’s a couple of nights a week, which is where Stella met him.”
“Do you know which nights he works there?” Jeremy asked.
“Usually Sundays and Mondays. He works at the ski resort as a lift operator the rest of the week.”
“Okay; thanks,” I said. “Before we go, is there anything else you can tell us?”
Cory shrugged. “Not really. I hope you catch the guy who did it. She could be dark and depressed at times, but then, sometimes she could light up a room with her smile.”
We thanked him and returned to Jeremy’s truck.
“So what now?” Jeremy asked. “Do I take you home or do you want to drive up to Eagle Mountain to see if Docker is working today?”
I hesitated. I knew Jeremy was busy, but I did want to speak to the man Cory had indicated had been spending time with Stella. Everyone would have a fit if I went alone, so I decided to have Jeremy make the drive up the mountain. It would be a fifteen-minute trip each way, plus the time it took us to track down and speak to Docker, but finding Stella’s killer seemed to be the most important thing right then.
Jeremy called the Zoo and spoke to Tiffany, who had just returned from reindeer patrol. She’d recovered one of the reindeer who’d been seen walking down Main Street, so now they only needed to find Dasher, Comet, and Vixen. Jeremy promised to keep an eye out for tracks and to return to the Zoo as soon as we’d finished our errand.
We were halfway up the mountain when one of the reindeer ran across the road less than a hundred yards in front of us.
“Do you have the tranquilizer gun?” I asked.
“I have it. I’ll get the reindeer; you call Tiffany and tell her to bring the van.”
The idea was to tranquilize the reindeer and then use our large animal van to transport him back to the pen. My instinct was to follow Jeremy into the deep snow as he tracked the animal, but one look at my huge belly convinced me to wait in the truck as I’d been told.
Twenty minutes later, Tiffany showed up with the van, which was towing a trailer with a snowmobile and a sled. “Has Jeremy caught up with him yet?” Tiffany asked.
“The last I heard, he was getting close, but not close enough to take the shot. The snow is pretty deep, so it’s slow going.”
Tiffany slid the sled from the trailer, then backed down the snowmobile. “I guess I’ll just wait for Jeremy to radio us. If I show up with the snowmobile before the reindeer is all the way under it will probably scare him.”
“It’s chilly out here,” I commented. “Let’s wait in Jeremy’s truck.”
After we were settled inside, Tiffany turned on the ignition and cranked up the heater.
“If we can get this one tucked back into the pen we’ll only have two more to track down,” Tiffany commented as she rubbed her hands in front of the vent. “The fact that this one is so far up the mountain has me concerned, though. The farther they roam from ground zero, the harder it’s going to be to find them.”
“Yeah.” I sighed as I looked out the window at the flurries that were just beginning to appear in the sky. “There does seem to be some urgency in getting everyone back where they belong.”
“Did you have any luck with the guy who was seen talking to Stella?” Tiffany asked.
“He didn
’t seem to know a lot, but he did give us the name of someone who works at the resort, which is why we were on this road in the first place. By the time we get the reindeer settled into the pen it’ll be too late to look for him today. I may just see if Ellie can drive me up there tomorrow after the events committee meeting. We’ve been talking about taking a drive to the village to look at the decorations anyway.”
“Jeremy to Zoe, come in,” Jeremy said over the radio. “He’s down. Send Tiffany in with the sled.”
“Ten-four,” I answered. “Tiffany is on her way.”
I was fortunate to have such talented, caring individuals at the Zoo. The work we did was important, and it meant a lot to me that those I depended on to care for the wild and domestic wildlife in the area cared about the animals they were tasked to rescue and skilled at what they did.
By the time I got home the sun had already set. Ellie was busy preparing dinner when I walked into the house and Scooter and Alex were sitting at the kitchen table decorating sugar cookies.
“More cookies?” I asked.
“I wanted to have cookies to serve at the wrapping party tonight, and Scooter and I are both taking some to school,” Alex answered. “And Ellie thought you should have extra to take tonight for the cookie exchange.”
“Did you round up enough help with the wrapping?”
“I have ten kids coming from school. I thought we’d set things up in the living room, if that’s okay. Levi’s going to bring in those long folding tables you have in the attic.”
“Sounds like a good plan. Do you have enough supplies?”
Alex nodded. “We have everything we need. I think we’re going to make a lot of families happy this year.”
I smiled. “I think so too. I’ll help you decorate the cookies after I wash up.”
As I passed the living room on my way to the stairs, I stopped to watch Levi playing with Eli. Father and son were crawling around on the floor looking for a red ball that was sitting in plain sight, though Levi was pretending he couldn’t find it. Eli was in front of the Christmas tree laughing and clapping his hands. I rubbed my stomach. Next Christmas it would be Zak playing with Catherine in front of the tree; the thought gave me a warm, happy feeling from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.
