by Judi Lynn
“I don’t know, but I’m taking her over there and walking her on that side of the street. If she breaks free from her leash, who knows how far she’ll run? I don’t want her to dart in front of a car on the highway. There’s not a lot of traffic on Sycamore Drive.”
Ansel grabbed the dog’s collar, and they waited for a few cars to pass, then crossed over. The parking lots for the businesses didn’t connect to Sycamore Drive, but there was a wide grassy strip they could walk on. The dog went ballistic when they got close to the buildings, whining and barking, lunging toward Seth’s bar. And then Jazzi saw it. She clamped her left hand over her mouth. “Oh crap!”
Ansel followed her gaze and let out a surprised grunt.
A hand stuck out of the dumpster behind the bar. Why hadn’t someone noticed it before now?
Ansel took Cocoa’s leash. “You’d better call Gaff. Cocoa knows who that hand belongs to.”
“Leo?”
“Unless there’s more dead bodies lying around here.”
Jazzi pulled out her cell and dialed. Ansel knelt next to Cocoa and held her close, stroking her and talking to her in a soothing voice. “It’s okay, girl. You can’t go near him until Gaff gets here, but then we’ll let you say good-bye to him.”
The dog leaned into him, whimpering, then slumped onto the ground and laid her head on her paws.
Chapter 21
Jazzi called Thane and told him that they might be late picking up George. She explained about the hand in the dumpster.
Olivia got on the phone. “Are the heavens punishing you? Are you cursed to go around town, finding dead bodies?”
“Not funny.” Jazzi had asked herself the same question.
“Do you have to stay for Gaff?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah, he just thought he got to go home and be off duty.”
“And he still likes you?”
“So far.” Jazzi let out a long breath. “We have Cocoa. Gaff’ll probably want to go with us when we take her home. He’ll want to talk to Louisa.”
Her sister’s voice softened. “Sucks to be you. Want a glass of wine when you get here?”
“Have you had a chance to eat? We don’t want to interrupt your supper.”
“I picked up takeout on my way home. We had enough to share with George. Tell Ansel his dog likes lo mein.”
Jazzi laughed. “George likes almost everything, even green beans.”
“Well, he’s happy for the moment. We’re just going to be putting things in our cupboards. I can finally get the stuff out of our spare bedroom. See you whenever you get here.”
“Thanks, Olivia.”
Gaff and his team pulled in as soon as she hung up. They stretched yellow tape around the area, went straight to the dumpster, and got to work. Flies and bees circled the garbage bags, but they ignored them.
“You should let Seth know we’re here,” Gaff said. “I’ll want to talk to him.”
Jazzi gave him a look. She wasn’t officially part of his team, but dark circles cratered his eyes, and his white shirt was more rumpled than usual, so she let it go. She ducked into the restaurant, caught Seth’s attention, and told him the news.
The color drained from his face. “In my dumpster?”
She nodded.
He called, “Cover for me!” to a male waiter and walked out the door with her. When he joined Gaff and Ansel and saw Leo on top of his trash, he looked like he might be sick.
“Hang in there,” Gaff said. “I need some information from you.”
Seth straightened his shoulders. “What do you need to know?”
“You’ve been at the restaurant all day. Has anyone used the dumpster?”
“I have. I tossed big bags in it after the lunch crowd. Leo’s lying on them.”
Gaff looked surprised. “So someone brought his body here and dumped it while you were at work?”
Seth crossed his arms over his chest. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. When the dumpster was closed, it was bad enough. With the lid open, it reeked. “Had to. Fridays are always busy. I took Cocoa for a walk, then came here. I don’t leave until after closing and cleanup, usually close to three in the morning.”
“And you don’t leave to make a bank deposit or take a break any time during the day?”
Seth grew thoughtful. “I usually do. I make a bank run around three in the afternoon, but today was one of those days; lots of little things kept going wrong. I stayed to deal with crap, and our head waitress deposited the money for me.”
Gaff paused to think a moment. “Is there anyone out to get you? It feels like someone was trying to pin Leo’s murder on you.”
“On me? He’s my uncle.”
“And I’d bet his body went in the dumpster when you’re usually on break, when you wouldn’t have an alibi.”
Seth shook his head. “I’m not buying that. I don’t have any enemies I know of. I’d bet someone wanted a convenient way to get rid of Leo’s body. The collection truck empties the dumpster early Saturday morning.”
Jazzi tried to block an image of a garbage truck emptying Leo’s body into its crusher. “But where was Leo’s body in the meantime? He’s been dead a while.”
“Good question.” Gaff looked at Ben, one of the techs, who was close enough to hear their conversation. “Got any answers for us?” he called.
Ben came to join them. “There’s no decomposition. No bugs or dirt. I’d say he was in a freezer.”
Jazzi’s mind painted a mental picture of Leo cradled among frozen peas and chuck roasts. She pushed it away.
Seth stared. “Someone froze him, then came and tossed him in the trash? What sense does that make?”
“A lot,” Ben said. “I’d guess the killer dragged the body to his trunk but wasn’t sure where to get rid of it, so he tossed it in an empty chest freezer. He didn’t want to keep it there, though, and he’d buried two other bodies close to here and wanted to dump Leo in the same area. If he could point us in the wrong direction at the same time, so much the better.”
Jazzi raised an eyebrow at Ben. The tech was pretty impressive.
Gaff looked at Seth. “You have a big freezer room, don’t you?”
Seth straightened to his full height, clearly offended. “Yeah, but it’s full of chicken wings, burgers, and supplies. People walk in and out of it all the time. If Leo was in there, someone would notice.”
“Mind if we take a look?”
Seth motioned toward the bar’s door. “Come on. Be my guest.”
Gaff nudged Jazzi to follow him. She glanced at Ansel, and he nodded for her to go. He’d stay with the dog.
Just as Seth had told them, there was a lot of food in the cooler, nothing else. On the way out, Jazzi glanced at the kitchen full of bustling cooks. Windows opened onto a small space outdoors, surrounded on three sides by a high, wooden fence.
“Employees go out there to smoke,” Seth told them.
Jazzi’s attention focused on a pair of binoculars hanging from a hook near the kitchen door. “Binoculars?”
Seth grinned. “You wouldn’t believe it from a bunch of guys like mine, but they like watching the bird feeders at the end of the lot. We get a big variety since there’s a creek back there.”
“How far can you see? If you aim them at the back of those apartments across the street, could you see Miles checking out Meghan’s apartment? Could you watch Leo take Cocoa for her walks?”
Seth looked stunned. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out,” Gaff said.
They went out the kitchen’s back door. Gaff took the binoculars and looked across Sycamore Drive. He let out a low whistle. “You could watch Leo turn onto the brambly patch that led to the wetland from here.”
Jazzi rubbed her arms. Someone who worked here could have seen Leo follow Cocoa toward the buried bod
ies. Come to think of it, though, so could someone from the wings place a few doors down. And Meghan had worked there. Did they have binoculars, too?
Gaff flipped back through the pages of his notepad. He aimed his words at Seth. “You might as well know that the coroner looked at the other two victims. Miles had a lot of scratches and bruises, probably defense wounds. It looks like he rushed into Meghan’s apartment to try to save her and ended up dead, too. The back of his head was bashed in. So was Leo’s. Meghan was strangled.”
Seth rubbed his forehead, turning pale. Finally, he said, “Why would anyone watch Miles from here? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t think they did,” Gaff told him. “But I do think someone noticed Leo heading to the wetland, and he panicked and went to make sure Leo didn’t report any shallow graves.”
“Couldn’t someone from the wings restaurant have seen him, too?” Jazzi asked.
Gaff shook his head. “Look at the line of trees. They would block the view. The bar’s on the end of the strip mall. This is the one and only place that would work.”
“Unless someone from one of the housing developments killed him,” Seth said. “I can’t see any of my employees as a murderer. It could have been someone from her apartment complex, too. Or someone she worked with.”
Jazzi liked that Seth had a high opinion of his staff, that he stuck up for them.
When they walked to where Ansel was waiting for them, Jazzi stepped closer to him. He could always tell when she was upset and wound his arm around her waist. She told him about the binoculars, and he thought for a minute. “That does look bad, but what about the EMT who had a thing for Meghan? Couldn’t he park his ambulance around here and keep an eye on things? I’ve seen EMTs on break, pulled into an out-of-the-way place.”
Gaff nodded. “I talked to him, and he admitted he wanted to hook up with Meghan, but when she wasn’t into him, he said he hooked up with someone else who works on the fourth floor.”
Jazzi snorted. That didn’t mean he gave up on Meghan. “Are you going to look into him more?”
“Want to come?” Gaff clicked his pen shut. “I thought I’d talk to the nurse he’s seeing.”
When she nodded, he tucked his notepad into his shirt pocket. “I’ll call you when I can interview her, but it might take a while. I’m working another case, too. For now, we can take it from here. And thanks for helping me...again.”
Seth started back into the restaurant. Ansel and Jazzi walked Cocoa back to Louisa’s.
“I’ll be there soon,” Gaff told them.
A new car was in the driveway when they got there. A woman in her early fifties opened the door for them.
“I’m Penny.” She motioned them inside. “I’m Louisa and Leo’s daughter. I’m staying with Mom for a couple of weeks.”
Thank heavens! Relief flowed through Jazzi. Besides Miriam, Louisa would have family staying with her, and Penny looked fit enough to walk Cocoa in the evenings. She could cross those two things off her worry list.
When Ansel removed Cocoa’s leash, she hovered close to Jazzi’s legs. Jazzi bent to stroke her fur and comfort her. The poor dog looked traumatized.
Gaff dropped in fifteen minutes later. “Did you tell them?”
Jazzi shook her head. “That’s your job.”
Penny put her hand on her mom’s right shoulder. Miriam stood on her left side. Gaff told them the news.
Louisa pinched her lips into a tight line. She took a moment to compose herself, but her hands kept busy, her fingers wringing each other. “You found him in a dumpster?”
Gaff was as positive as a detective can be when delivering bad news. Louisa didn’t handle it well, and Miriam went to get her a “happy” pill the doctor had prescribed. When Miriam and Penny finally got Louisa calmed down and in bed, Gaff, Ansel, and Jazzi left.
Gaff headed back to the station. Ansel and Jazzi crossed the street to Olivia and Thane’s. Olivia opened the door and handed Jazzi a glass of wine. “Tell us about it.”
They settled around the new island. “This was a tough one,” Jazzi said. “No one wants to hear that their husband’s body was found on top of trash bags in a dumpster.”
“Or was frozen for a while.” Olivia gathered their dirty glasses and carried them to the sink.
Thane hooked an arm around Jazzi’s shoulders. “Sleep in tomorrow. You’ve had one heck of a week.”
“After I mow the grass, I’ll help you clean the house,” Ansel offered.
How could she have better friends and family? And who could be a better boyfriend than Ansel? A knot of emotion clogged her throat. She swallowed it down and shook her head. “You guys are the best.”
Ansel stood to hug her. “It’s late. Let’s get George and head home. Dead bodies make me tired.”
He had a point. She hoped she didn’t see another one for a long time.
Chapter 22
They slept in on Saturday. They always worked hard, but they’d put in more hours than usual the last two weeks, and a little extra sleep felt good. Jazzi woke with Ansel curled against her, his arm draped over her shoulder. She lay still, enjoying the moment, but Ansel had a built-in radar that sensed when she was awake. He stirred and pulled her even closer.
He nuzzled his face into her messy hair. “Mmm, good morning.”
She turned to face him, tipping her head for a kiss. “We have a whole day to ourselves.”
His hand reached to tug her close. “We should celebrate, go out for supper tonight.”
She believed in acknowledging all of the good things life offered—birthdays, holidays, and a hot man lying next to her in bed. “Someplace special?”
“Why not?”
They lay there, enjoying the moment, until Jazzi pushed away. They had a long list of chores to do today. Still...“We could let everything go and spend the day in bed.”
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “No rest for the wicked.”
“I haven’t been that bad.”
He chuckled, then padded into the bathroom. When he returned, he was wearing an old pair of drawstring shorts. They hung low on his hips. He went to the chest of drawers and pulled on a sleeveless T-shirt. “The yard needs to be mowed.”
The yard. His personal obsession. Lightning might strike them if the grass got too long.
He went down to start the coffeepot while she got dressed in short-shorts and a loose T-shirt. She cleaned on Saturdays and worked in the flower beds. Her family would come for the Sunday meal tomorrow, but she was keeping it simple, marinating skirt steaks in a beer mix so Ansel could grill them, along with onions and peppers. She’d bought tortillas to make fajitas. She’d have red beans and rice in the slow cooker and toss a big salad to finish the meal. Admitting she was lazy, she’d bought three brownie mixes to make for dessert.
When she met Ansel in the kitchen, he pushed a cup of coffee across the island to her.
“Want a quick breakfast?” Four slices of pumpernickel popped out of the toaster, and he went to butter them. She added cherry preserves to hers, peanut butter to his.
George begged, and Ansel gave him the corners of each slice of bread. When they’d finished eating and Ansel started outside, George stepped half in, half out the door. It wasn’t as hot as yesterday, but it wasn’t cool either. George watched Jazzi reach for her dust mop and headed to his dog bed.
Ansel laughed. “George would go anywhere to get away from Emily. He’s getting spoiled living with you.”
“He’s going to have a tough choice when I’m finished cleaning. I’m going outside to work on the flower beds.”
Ansel glanced at the pug, stretched in his dog bed. “He might survive. A little movement is good for him.”
They both got busy. Ansel started mowing, and Jazzi dived into her cleaning. This house was a lot bigger than her apartment had
been, and it took her longer. At noon, she stopped to make lunch. They ate sandwiches every day on the job, so she took a little time to make a pot of minestrone. Ansel loved soup. She’d even bought a round of crusty bread. He’d be happy when hunger called him to the kitchen.
When he stepped inside the house, he sniffed the air appreciatively. “Do I smell soup?”
She’d finished the floors and dusting. He’d completed mowing around the pond. “I thought I’d spoil you today.”
He heaved a satisfied sigh and went to get bowls and spoons. “You always spoil me. I have to pinch myself sometimes. Emily never cooked.”
They’d finished eating when Ansel’s phone buzzed. He scowled. “My sister.”
“You’re a sucker for Adda. Go ahead and talk to her. Take all the time you want. I need to scrub sinks and tubs.”
He looked pained, but answered his phone. “Yeah?”
Jazzi got busy on cleanup. She poured the rest of the soup into a storage container and put the bread they hadn’t used in a Ziploc bag to freeze. She was wiping down the counter when Ansel finally spoke.
“No, and there’s no reason for you to help with the milking either. I’m surprised you lasted a week. No wonder you’re tired. You can’t do your job in town and help Mom and Dad. The farm’s a full-time commitment.”
He listened to something on her end before adding, “I can’t help you. If I leave here, I don’t have an income. If you take days off, you have no vacation time. They got themselves into this mess. They can figure out how to fix it.”
Adda said something else, but Ansel only shook his head.
“I can’t come. I did what they wanted. I left. I have a job and a life. I can’t just drop it now. And for what? When Bain’s leg is healed, they’ll kick me out again. I’m not interested.”
When he hung up, Jazzi came to sit across from him. “You know my income can pay all our bills.”
He scowled at her. “Would you go back after they told you to leave?”
