Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2)

by Jenna St James

  By the time I called Mom, explained what happened, and everyone came over with coffee and a coat for Aunt Shirley, the police and ambulance had arrived. Officer Dillon, a young, fresh-out-of-academy looking boy separated Aunt Shirley and me from everyone else.

  Officer Dillon started processing the scene while the EMTs and coroner took care of Jim’s body. I put off calling Garrett a little longer. I knew he wasn’t going to be happy.

  A heavyset, middle-aged man finished giving orders and lumbered our way. Stopping in front of us, he hitched up his pants and just stared at Aunt Shirley and me.

  “My name is Chief Taggart. Who found the body?”

  I half raised my hand. “I guess I did.”

  Chief Taggart curled his lip. “You guess?” he sneered. “Surely you know. Did you or did you not find the body?”

  I was caught off guard. I wasn’t used to open hostility from the police.

  “Hey,” Aunt Shirley said, “how about you take it easy on her. She’s still pretty shaken.”

  Chief Taggart slid his eyes over to Aunt Shirley. “How about you mind your own business and let me do my job.”

  Aunt Shirley’s eyes bugged out and her face turned red. If I didn’t step in, someone was going to go to jail…and it wouldn’t be Chief Taggart.

  “I did,” I said quickly. “I discovered the body,”

  Officer Dillon had joined our small group and was now listening to the questions and answers.

  Once again Chief Taggart looked me over. My skin crawled. “And what exactly were you doing here? You one of those girls like Jo the Ho?” He cackled at his own private joke.

  “Jo the Ho?” I asked.

  Officer Dillon blushed and shuffled his feet in the snow. He cleared his throat. “I think the Chief is referring to Jolene Shoeman. We’ve had to pick her up on more than one occasion for soliciting.”

  Jo the Ho? What the hell was this guy’s problem?

  I narrowed my eyes at the sexist jerk. “Do I look like a prostitute?” I held up my hand. “No, never mind. No, I’m not like Jolene Shoeman.”

  “No, guess you’re not,” the Chief spit out. “You got a lot more meat on your bones than that skinny-legged meth whore. Your hair ain’t as stringy and oily as hers, either. Definitely not a user.”

  I could feel myself shaking with anger. I wanted to make him sing soprano for a while, but I knew I’d be hauled off to jail in a blink of an eye. I guess my face said it all because I felt Aunt Shirley grab my arm.

  “I live over there,” I said, pointing to our house. “We are here for a wedding. I came over this morning because I heard someone pounding on Jim’s door and making threats to him.”

  Chief Taggart narrowed his eyes at me. “That so? Pretty convenient. Can you identify this man?”

  “I can’t identify him, but I can describe him and the truck he was driving.”

  I gave him the description and what I overheard. I could tell the Chief wasn’t all that impressed by the way his eyes glazed over.

  “That sounds like Larry Blackwell,” Officer Dillon said.

  “Shut up, boy. I’ll do the talking here. Go see if you can’t find anything useful.”

  Officer Dillon shuffled off toward the side of the workshop facing our house. I felt sorry for him…no one should have to endure Chief Idiot as far as I was concerned.

  “Anything else?” he demanded.

  I looked over at Aunt Shirley. She’d remained silent, but I could tell by the grip on my arm she was getting worked up by this guy, too.

  “Only that I overheard an argument last night between Jim and a female. I was sitting on the deck when I heard yelling. I came over and heard Jim say to someone they needed to leave. I left before I had a chance to see who the female was.” I felt torn. I wasn’t telling on Julie, yet I was making her seem like a suspect.

  “And you never saw this person’s car, or saw them leave?”

  I could tell by his condescending voice he didn’t believe me. “No, I didn’t. The back half of the Morton building cuts off any visual to Jim’s house. Afraid I’d be seen eavesdropping, I decided to turn around and leave. So I just walked back to the house and told everyone what I heard.”

  Now why had I admitted that?

  Again the Chief narrowed his eyes at me. “Dillon,” he shouted. Within seconds Officer Dillon came jogging over to us.

  “Yes, Chief?” he asked.

  “You find any footprints in the snow back there by the side of the shed?”

  Officer Dillon’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Yes, Chief, I did. Also found footprints leading around to the house and some leading to the workshop. Looks like the same shoe print.”

  Chief Taggart smiled at me. “That so? How about you show me the bottom of your boots? Bet all the treads will match the ones over here in the blood and sawdust. ”

  My pulse raced. Was he accusing me of murdering Jim?

  “She just told you she was here last night and this morning,” my aunt cut in. “Of course her footprints will be all over this place.”

  “You know what it sounds like to me?” Chief Taggart said. “Sounds like you’re throwing an awful lot of suspicion on perfectly upstanding citizens like Larry Blackwell and make-believe females.”

  How could make-believe females be upstanding citizens? What an idiot!

  I wasn’t sure how I felt that Taggart didn’t believe me when I said Julie had been at Jim’s shop.

  “If I were you, Miss Sinclair, I wouldn’t be leaving town just yet. Seems I have me a number one suspect in you.” Officer Taggart gave me one last snarl. “Let’s go,” he snapped at Officer Dillon.

  The two men got into the police car and left.

  Was I really a suspect?

  “Your mom isn’t going to like this one bit,” Aunt Shirley said gleefully, “but seems to me we have a few days to solve a murder.”

  Chapter 13

  “No, absolutely not! Not only will Mom and Paige kill me, but so will Garrett.”

  “Oh, so you just wanna roll over and go to jail, is that it?”

  I glared at my aunt. I knew what she said made sense, but I didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t want to spend the next few days solving a murder I didn’t commit just so I wouldn’t go to jail. I wanted to drink and celebrate Paige’s wedding to my brother.

  “You need to think long and hard, Ryli. We have no time to waste. Do you really want Deputy Dumbass and Officer Newbie solving this? Because they looked ready to haul you away right now.”

  I sighed. I knew she was right. I just didn’t want to admit it.

  “I think he said his name is Chief Taggart, not Deputy Dumbass,” I resigned.

  Aunt Shirley snorted. “From where I’m standing and what I was hearing…it’s one in the same.”

  I sighed again. “Fine. We do it your way.”

  I’m so going to regret this!

  An hour later we were huddled around the kitchen table drinking hot tea. Mine had a shot of whiskey in it, but I felt it was warranted. I still hadn’t called Garrett to tell him about discovering Jim, nor had I said anything to Mom about Chief Taggart’s covert threat.

  “I just can’t believe someone would do this to Jim,” Mom said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “He was such a nice young man. Always keeping an eye on the house for us…who would do something like this?”

  I looked at Aunt Shirley and Paige. I knew they were both thinking what I was thinking. That it could very well be a person we grew up with.

  “I told Hank I’d call him today to touch base and say hello,” Mindy said, retrieving her cell phone from her purse.

  I groaned. I knew Hank. He could smell a story a mile away. There’s no way Mindy was going to be able to keep this a secret. I was definitely gonna have to call Garrett soon. It would be worse if he found out about the body from Hank rather than me.

  A few minutes later, Mindy walked back into the kitchen and handed me the phone. “He wants to talk with you,” she said.r />
  Taking a deep breath, I put the phone to my ear. “Yeah?” I said defensively.

  Hank chuckled. “I should’ve known you’d discover a body on your little “girls only” weekend. It’s like trouble follows you everywhere.”

  I could picture him working the unlit cigar back and forth as he talked. “What do you want, Hank? I’m tired and shook up.”

  “A story,” he barked. “I’m assuming you and your wacky aunt are already under suspicion and in need of clearing your name.”

  How does he do that?

  “Maybe, maybe not.” I tried to be vague, but obviously failed.

  “Just as I thought. I want a story for next week’s paper. Get it for me, Sinclair.”

  “Why in the world would anyone in Granville care if a murder happened here or not?”

  “Don’t be an idiot. You and I both know these people will eat it up. Local girl discover a body, then becomes a suspect in the murder…the papers will fly off the shelf. Especially since it’s you, and everyone knows your track record with murders.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. I knew he had me over a barrel. He’s my boss after all…and I am a reporter. “Fine, on one condition. I haven’t told Garrett about what happened. If you run into him before I get a chance to say something to him…keep your mouth closed. He needs to hear this from me.”

  “What I wouldn’t give to see his face when you tell him. He’s going to go ape shit.”

  “Just promise me you won’t tell.”

  “You got it. Oh, and Sinclair, just know if you get my wife involved in any way, I’m going to kick your ass!”

  I rolled my eyes and handed the phone back to Mindy without saying anything. But inside I was shaking.

  * * *

  Knowing I couldn’t put it off any longer, I grabbed my cell phone and headed downstairs to my bedroom to call Garrett. Since I had yet to reach him, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

  “Hey, Sin. What’s up?” he asked.

  I was totally surprised to hear his voice.

  “Not much,” I said hesitantly. “You at work?”

  I heard him curse. “What’s going on? What’ve you gotten yourself mixed up in?”

  “Dammit,” I said, choking back tears, “it’s not my fault!”

  Garrett sighed. “I’m sorry. What’s happened?”

  I told him everything I could remember…from the argument on the phone the first day I saw Jim, to the guy pounding on the door, to even my suspicion about Julie. I tried skimming over how Aunt Shirley and I found him with the auger sticking out of his heart, but he grilled me on every little detail. I finished the tirade with my run-in with the local Chief, emphasizing he was nothing like him…hoping for some brownie points.

  “I’m sorry about Jim,” Garrett said.

  “Thanks,” I whispered, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  “So, let me guess…Aunt Shirley has you guys trying to solve this case?” he said.

  “Did you not hear the part about the Chief of Police telling me not to leave town because I’m his lead suspect?” I cried.

  Another big sigh. “That’s just standard police talk. I highly doubt you’re his lead suspect.” I could hear him mulling things over. “Why don’t I give him a call and see what’s going on…one Chief to another.”

  I instantly felt better. “Thank you.”

  “How about you thank me by staying out of trouble. I can’t go down there right now and bail you out of jail.”

  My radar went on instant alert. “Why? What’s going on back home?”

  Garrett chuckled. “Nothing exciting. Still helping Brywood police out with that ring of vandals. Looks like they may be coming our way soon if we don’t stop them.”

  Over the last few weeks a number of houses in the surrounding countryside had been broken into. Brywood was the second town around us to be hit by these thugs. So far they’d stayed away from Granville, but it sounded like it may become a Granville problem soon.

  “How’s Miss Molly? I miss her something fierce.”

  “She’s hanging in there. She misses you, too. Mostly she just wonders around my house meowing and squinting at me. I think she hates me.”

  I laughed at the description. “She doesn’t hate you. She just misses me.”

  “She’s not the only one that misses you.”

  The low timbre in his voice had me shivering. What I wouldn’t give to have him here so he could hold me.

  “I miss you, too,” I whispered.

  I heard some shouting in the background. “I better let you go,” I said softly. “Stay safe, and I can’t wait to see you on Sunday.”

  “Me, too. I’ll call the Chief for you when I get a chance.”

  “Thanks, Garrett. That does make me feel better. And I promise not to get into trouble.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, right. You’re with your aunt. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  I knew he was right. “I miss you and can’t wait to see you on Sunday.”

  “Back at ya, Sin.”

  * * *

  “Do you think we should still go ahead with the bachelorette party after all that’s happened?” Paige asked.

  Mom placed a bowl of steaming hot stew in front of me while Bea carried over a loaf of crusty French bread.

  “I don’t want to sound harsh,” Aunt Shirley said, “but canceling our plans will not bring Jim back.”

  Paige sighed. “I know. I just feel yucky thinking about having fun at a time like this.”

  Mom placed the last bowl of stew on the table then sat down across from me. “Can I weigh in?” she asked.

  “Please do.” Paige said.

  Mom looked at everyone around the table before speaking. “When my husband died, it took me a long time to recover. When the grief finally subsided, I actually struggled with the guilt of wanting to move on. What would people think? Was it too soon to move on? I fretted over other people’s reaction instead of doing what was best for my family and myself. I don’t want to see that happen here.”

  I reached over and patted Mom’s hand. I had no idea she’d ever struggled with the difficulty of moving on. I turned to look at Paige. “When I told Jim about the wedding, he was so excited for you. He said it was about time.”

  Megan handed Paige a tissue. “I’m with Ryli and her mom. Don’t let this ruin your purpose for being here.”

  “I know,” Paige agreed. “When I told Matt what happened, he pretty much said the same thing. And he and Jim have known each other for years. So if tender-hearted Matt tells me to keep celebrating, I know it’s what I should do.”

  “Being an EMT and fireman, Matt sees tragedy all the time. And soon, when he becomes a police officer, he’ll probably see it even more. Believe me,” Mindy said, “he knows what he’s talking about.”

  Aunt Shirley clapped her hands together. “That’s the spirit. I’m with everyone else on this. Tragedy happens every day…don’t let it take your joy.”

  Paige let out a shaky laugh. “Okay, I guess it’s settled. Looks like we’re still having a bachelorette party and wedding!”

  “That’s the spirit, honey,” Bea said. “Now, let’s try and relax and enjoy our meal.”

  I’d just taken a bite of the steaming stew when I felt someone kick my leg. I looked up and met Aunt Shirley’s eyes. I knew that look. She was planning something. Hoping it wouldn’t get us killed, maimed, or otherwise incapacitated before the wedding, I lowered my eyes and dug in. Obviously I was going to need my strength.

  When the table had been cleared, and everyone dispersed for the evening, I snuck into Aunt Shirley’s room. “What’re you thinking?” I said.

  “I like the way you get right to the point.”

  I sighed. “I figured it’s like tearing off a Band-Aid. Let’s just get this over with.”

  Aunt Shirley chuckled. “I think we should sneak over to Jim’s and see if we can’t find any clues. We’ll wait a bit, but if someone does catch us, we can just say we’
re going for a quick walk to discuss some last-minute party ideas. It’s the perfect cover.”

  “I’m fairly certain there’s police tape over the front door of the Morton building.”

  “There is. But trust me, I can get you in.”

  “I need a drink,” I mumbled.

  “Right here,” Aunt Shirley said, pulling a near-empty bottle of tequila out of her nightstand drawer.

  “Of course it is.” I walked over and sat next to her on the bed. “Let’s have it. I need something to get me through this night.”

  Four shots later, an empty bottle on the nightstand, and I was zipping up my jacket and praying Mom wouldn’t catch us. I peeked around the corner, into the great room, but it was empty. Motioning for Aunt Shirley, I quietly opened the front door.

  “See,” Aunt Shirley whispered, “no one will be the wiser.”

  I knew better. Before the night was over, something catastrophic would happen…I just knew it.

  Shutting the front door behind me, I followed Aunt Shirley to Jim’s Morton building. There was still enough moonlight in the night sky that we didn’t need a flashlight. And since the police had already seen my footprints earlier in the snow, I wasn’t too worried about it.

  “While you were on the phone to Garrett, I made a quick run over here. The police locked the door, but they didn’t shut the window that was open. That right there should tell you they’re idiots.”

  “So you’re suggesting we go inside through the window?” I asked. “How the hell are we going to do that?”

  Aunt Shirley didn’t say anything until we were under the window. “I’m suggesting you go through the window. I can boost you up and you can push it the rest of the way open and climb in,” she said. “Lucky for you, I’ve taught you how to pop out screens.”

  I looked up. It was about a six-foot drop from the window to where we were standing. I weighed my chances of survival if I fell and decided to just get it over with.