by Judi Lynn
Gaff handed her another business card. “If you think of anything, give me a call.”
She got up and threw the card in the trash on her way out the door.
Jazzi let out a long breath and looked at Gaff. “That’s one seriously nasty personality disorder. She’d do almost anything to protect Mack.”
Gaff nodded. “Either that, or she’s the killer.”
Jazzi winced. She had to admit that it was a possibility.
Chapter 39
Jazzi had no desire to be a good girl and go to the house on Anthony to work for the rest of the day. She felt like she was up to her eyebrows in dead bodies and clues. Restless, she drove to the grocery store and filled her cart with all the ingredients to make some of Ansel’s favorite dishes. If she cooked for him, he’d stay in her thoughts, and she’d feel better.
She tossed a big head of cabbage, ground chuck, and ground pork into her cart. She added lots of cans of tomatoes, and everything to make a dark chocolate cake. A bag of potatoes joined a package of diced ham. She tossed in a couple of bags of salad before she paid at the register.
Once she was home, she carried the bags into the kitchen and stopped to stare. Inky was hanging on the sheer curtain at the front window.
“No!” She hurried to unhook his sharp, little claws and lower him to the ground. She shook her finger at him. “That’s not allowed.”
He batted at her hand.
“No!” Her voice was firm.
The kitten recognized the tone. He backed away.
She returned to her groceries and spread them on the counter top. It was only early afternoon, but she locked the screen doors anyway and turned on the security system. She’d forget later. Then she reached for her recipe file. She stashed every recipe she tore from a magazine in its different slots. pasta. soup. sandwiches. mexican. oriental. fish. pork. beef. one-dish meals, etc. She reached for the one-dish meals. She quickly found the recipe for cabbage rolls.
Ansel loved cabbage rolls served with potatoes au gratin. She only made them once a year, in January. Not for any specific reason. That’s just the rhythm she’d gotten into. She knew she had a few strange fetishes with her cooking. She always made duck breasts in February. In March, she liked seafood curry with bok choy over rice with pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. She marked each month with a certain meal. Odd, she knew. But the foods she cooked helped her track the months and seasons.
She was breaking tradition. She didn’t care. Inky tried to climb the kitchen towel draped over the oven door’s handle and fell to the floor with it. The kitten was curious about everything. She opened the junk drawer where she tossed everything and found a small paper clip. She flipped it on the floor, and he batted it. When it zoomed across the wood, he chased after it. Soon he and Marmalade were chasing it back and forth.
Jazzi filled her stockpot with water and put it on to boil. She cored the cabbage. And then she started work on the filling. When the water boiled, she lowered the head of cabbage into it. Soon the kitchen smelled like cabbage and tomato sauce. She turned on music. Keith Urban crooned in the background. She finished the cabbage rolls and put them on the back burner to simmer.
She kept her mandolin in the bottom corner cupboard. She didn’t use it often, but she wanted consistently sized slices. When she had a high enough pile of potatoes for her gratin, she buttered her casserole dish and added half of them. Onion slices covered that layer, and then the rest of the potatoes went on top. Ansel loved anything potato, but she rarely went to this much bother. She added the broth and seasonings, then covered it with foil.
After she put the potatoes in the oven, she stopped to make a sandwich and carry it into the living room to eat. The kittens took that as an invitation to attack her and beg for deli meat. She gave them each a few tiny pieces while she halfway paid attention to the TV. She’d thrown the mail on the coffee table and sorted through that. Nothing to brag about. She tossed all of it. She was beginning to lose energy. If she didn’t make the chocolate cake now, it wouldn’t happen.
She’d finished frosting it and was loading dirty bowls into the dishwasher when headlights flashed in the driveway. Bummer! She was ready to crash and relax. No one came here at eight at night during the week. Maybe Gaff?
She opened the front door to see who was there. Mack reached for the handle on the screen door to yank it open. Thank heavens she’d locked it. He was spotlighted on the front stoop, big and menacing, his face contorted with anger. He yelled at her through the screen.
“Tonya said you cornered her in the hospital again to drill her some more. Stay out of my business! Sniff around someplace else.”
“How did you get my address?”
“You’re in the phone book. I looked you up. Your pickup has your company logo. It was easy.”
“Did Tonya tell you we found another body, a girl who knew Meghan?”
“I don’t give a crap about Meghan. She got what she deserved, but I didn’t kill her. I don’t care who did. I told you I was done with her, and I don’t want you pestering me about her anymore.”
“If Detective Gaff asks me to come with him, I do. It’s his choice. If you don’t like it, talk to him.”
Mack reached for the handle again, and Jazzi moved her finger to the security system. “Leave, or I’m calling for backup.”
“It would take cops at least ten minutes to get here.”
“It would take you longer to get through this heavy door when I slam it. And by the time you got inside, I’d have my shotgun loaded.”
He stared. “Shotgun?”
“Ansel hunts.” He did, but Jazzi had no idea where he kept his bullets or cartridges or whatever he used. After Mack’s visit, she’d find out. “And then—if you’re alive—I’d press charges, and I’d guess not many ambulance services want someone who threatens people and breaks into their houses.”
“You have no right hassling me.”
“You’re a suspect. Detectives question suspects.”
He turned on his heel and stalked to his blue crossover. “Don’t tell Gaff about this.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. You were way out of line.”
He didn’t answer, just got in his car and roared away.
She closed and locked the front door, then sat on the second step of the staircase. Her hands shook so much, she had trouble dialing Gaff’s number. When she told him what happened, he said, “Don’t worry about Mack anymore. I’m bringing him into the station tomorrow to question him, and we’ll see if he likes that better. I’ll make it very clear he just made his life worse, and if he ever bothers you again, he’ll wish he hadn’t.”
Feeling better, she went to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. That settled her a little. And then she dropped in front of the TV to watch Fixer Upper. That’s all the excitement she could stand.
Chapter 40
When she walked into the kitchen in the morning, two arms reached out and lifted her off the ground. Mack! She turned to punch him between the eyes and looked into Ansel’s handsome face. She threw her arms around his neck and glued her lips to his. Too soon, something jumped on her legs, and George barked to get her attention.
She pulled away to pat the top of his head. “I’ve missed you, George.”
Two little fur balls skittered to a stop in front of the pug. George jerked back, surprised, then stared at them. Not impressed, George went to curl up in his dog bed. He’d had a long night. The kittens pounced on him, but he lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Jazzi glared at Ansel. He was finally home! Happiness gushed through her, but he’d scared her half to death. “You almost gave me a heart attack! And you never called last night.”
He grinned, unrepentant. “I went to bed early so that I could get up before dawn and drive home. We finished the barn roof, and I couldn’t wait to get back.”
�
�What about the cows?” She didn’t give a crap about the poor beasts, but who was going to milk them?
He squeezed her so close, she had trouble breathing. “Bain’s learned to use his crutches, and Dad can use a walker. Mom invited Jezebel to supper last night, and the four of them—Dad, Mom, Bain, and the she-demon—put pressure on me to stay. That was the last straw.”
“Poor Jezebel.” Sarcasm. Not her best quality, but it reared its ugly head once in a while. She hated the hussy and loved it that he called her “the she-demon.” She squirmed to kiss him. “Welcome home. I’ve missed you.”
He glanced at the kitchen island and looked guilty. She followed his gaze and saw that half of the chocolate cake was gone. Laughing, she shook her head. “I baked it for you anyway, to make you a special meal.”
“A meal? What are we having? Do I smell cabbage rolls?”
“I made potato gratin, too.”
He set her down. “I can wait until supper. The cake sort of filled me up.”
“That’s what happens when you eat half of it.”
He went to pour her coffee and settled on the stool next to hers. He bumped his knees against hers. “So, what have I missed?”
She told him about Mack coming last night.
Ansel worked to find his voice. “If you hadn’t locked the screen door...”
“I always do. The screen’s only in the top half, and the door’s made out of heavy steel. I always set the security system, too.”
He scraped both hands through his blond hair. “That was too close of a call. No wonder I scared you when I grabbed you. I just meant to surprise you.”
She smiled. “You did.”
“I’m sorry, Jazzi.”
“How would you know about Mack last night?”
“You could have called me, you know.”
“When you don’t call, I figure you’re so tired, you sat down and fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“But that was serious!”
“And it could wait. There wasn’t anything else to do about it.”
He was about to say more when Inky climbed up his jeans to get his attention. The black kitten narrowed his eyes at him, arched his back, and hissed.
Ansel broke out laughing. “What are you going to do to me?”
Marmalade climbed his other leg, and Ansel used a finger to pet the top of each of their heads. Purrs started. “I can’t believe how little they are. I’m going to have to be careful not to step on them.”
Jazzi glanced at the clock. “I’m glad you’re home, but if I don’t get moving pretty soon, Jerod’s going to wonder what happened to me. He needs all the help he can get. The flu wiped him out. But if you want to stay home and chill out, I won’t blame you. And I could call Jerod and bail out today. We could stay home and...catch up with each other.”
He laughed. “Don’t think we’re not going upstairs early tonight! But I can wait. I’m so ready to be back on our regular routine, I can hardly stand it.”
“Gaff might call me away sometime today.”
“An even better reason for me to go. I can be backup for Jerod. Has your cousin missed me?” Ansel picked up George, she grabbed the cooler with their lunch, and they started for the door.
As Jazzi settled on the passenger seat of Ansel’s van, she gave a small sigh of pleasure. She’d missed this, sitting next to him on the drive back and forth to work. Yakking on the way. “Jerod talked about you a lot until he got the flu. Now he just tries to make it through each day.”
They turned onto Highway 37 toward town. It was a short drive to Anthony Boulevard. They passed the college campus on the way. What had started as one lonely building had sprawled into a local campus with a crosswalk that led to housing for students. Ten minutes later, they pulled into the drive for their fixer-upper. Jerod’s pickup was already there.
When they walked into the house, Jerod was marking off where he wanted each kitchen cabinet and appliance to go. He turned and saw Ansel and gave a whoop of happiness. “It’s about time! We almost finished this place without you. It wouldn’t have felt right not to have your stamp on it, too.”
Her cousin looked ten times better than yesterday. Ansel shook his head. “Here I thought I’d find you weak and sorry, but you don’t look too bad.”
“I’ve been worthless lately. Jazzi’s done most of the work. Thank heavens this was an easy remodel. We’ve almost got it finished.”
“Have you lined up the next one yet?” Ansel asked.
Jerod gave him a long stare. “Between the flu and Jazzi trying to help Gaff, we’ve been a little stretched.”
That reminded Jazzi. “Gaff’s going to grab me again today sometime.”
“No problem.” Jerod nodded toward Ansel. “I have the big muscles with me today. I couldn’t do the cupboards by myself.”
Jazzi grinned, teasing them. “If I time this right, I won’t have to hold cabinets for you guys to drill into place.”
Jerod pointed at her and used his fingers to make the shame on you motion. “Your guy just got back from slave labor on the farm, and you’re already throwing extra work at him here?”
“She made me cabbage rolls and chocolate cake. I’d crawl across broken glass for her,” Ansel told him.
Jerod stared at her, using his best hurt look. “Cabbage rolls? Really?”
She pointed to the cooler that held their sandwiches for lunch. “There’s a storage container full of them for you and Franny.”
Jerod pulled her into a bear hug. “You’re the best cousin ever!”
She sniffed. “You say that now. Just wait until you feel better. You’ll be giving me as much grief as ever.”
“A sign of love,” he said. “And we’ve doted on each other enough. It’s time to put these cabinets up.”
Yeah, the love fest had lasted long enough. None of them were comfortable with too much praise. They all got in gear and carried the cabinets to where they’d be put in place. Gaff waited too long to call her, and Jazzi had to shoulder every top cabinet in its proper spot while the guys installed them. They had half the base cabinets done when Gaff finally called. They’d have the island situated before lunch.
“What if I come pick you up about one?” he asked. “I’ve scheduled some time to talk to Mack’s EMT partner. I’ve already talked to Mack, and we won’t have any more problems with him.”
Jazzi wouldn’t want to be on the other end of a serious discussion with Gaff when he wasn’t happy. Mack wasn’t nearly as scary as her nice detective could be. She’d never seen that side of him, but she could tell it was there. “One is fine. See you then.”
The granite counter tops were coming after lunch, but between Ansel and Jerod and the delivery team, they wouldn’t need her. The white Shaker cabinets looked really good, and she couldn’t wait to see how the kitchen came together.
They worked right up until Gaff came, and Jazzi carried her deli roast beef sandwich with her to eat in his car. “Do you want one? I have extra.”
He shook his head. “I already grabbed a quick lunch.”
She chowed down on their drive to the south side of River Bluffs. When they crossed the bridge into town, Jazzi glanced at the St. Mary’s River below them. It was low this time of year. Fine with her. They’d had enough rain in spring that the three rivers that ran through town had overflowed their banks in too many locations. Farm fields south of town were flooded, looking like shallow lakes.
Gaff drove past Headwaters Park, with its beautiful landscaping and trails, past downtown proper, and kept going until he reached Rudisill Avenue. He turned, and they passed beautiful old neighborhoods to make their way to a turnoff on Engle Road. The parking spot for some of the walking trails there was so close to the wetlands and where they’d found a scrap of Leo’s shirt that it took Jazzi back. She’d seen Mack’s ambulance parked there o
ften when she passed the street.
The parking lot was empty, but a few minutes later, an ambulance pulled in beside them. A tall, broad-shouldered black man with graying hair got out and walked to the gazebo overlooking a wide expanse of connecting shallow ponds. They got out to join him.
Gaff showed his badge and sat across from the man. Jazzi sat beside Gaff.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Gaff said. “We have some questions about your partner, Mack.”
The man held out his hand. “I’m Cornelius. I’ve worked with Mack for four years now. He’s sort of a mixed bag.”
“How’s that?” Gaff opened his notepad.
“He talks like the biggest bigot you’ve ever met. Doesn’t have anything good to say about anyone who isn’t white, but I’m the exception. So is the Hispanic who works weekends with us sometimes. If he knows you, you’re all right. If he doesn’t know you, it’s a whole different story. Same with women.”
“What do you mean?”
“If men sleep around, that’s their due. If women sleep around, they’re whores. Unless they’re friends of his. Then he listens to them and doesn’t judge. He’s sort of a bipolar bigot.”
Jazzi got a kick out of that, a great term. “How did he feel about Meghan?”
Cornelius took a minute to think. “She was a saint until she wouldn’t sleep with him. The boy has double standards. It’s wrong to sleep around, but it’s fine if the girl sleeps with him.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Gaff asked.
“Mack doesn’t handle rejection well. And he has a simmering anger issue. I still don’t think he’d kill anyone.” Cornelius squinched his lips together and shook his head. “No, Mack’s more the type to cuss and run his mouth. He tries to intimidate, but that’s about it.”
“Have you met his new girlfriend, Tonya?”
“No, and I don’t want to. He never stops talking about her. He thinks he’s in love, but I’m telling you, that woman sounds downright scary. I told him to run, but he didn’t listen.”
