Guess Trevor was right about that after all—we pretty much could have just ripped it down with our hands.
“Jaycee!” Mom yelled. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I pushed myself upright, but still kneeled on the floor. Shaking my head, I tried pinpointing the pain. It was useless. My hands stung, my knees screamed, and I was pretty sure I pulled something in my back.
“You scraped up your arm pretty good,” Mom said as she helped me to my feet.
I was surprised to find that even though we were under the stairs, there was plenty of room in the blocked-off space for us to stand upright—although it did look to slant with the stairs just a few feet away. “Okay, that didn’t go as planned. But from the looks of it, there’s going to be plenty of space for a half bath.”
Mom laughed. “C’mon, let’s get you out of here. I think we’ve have enough excitement for the night.”
“Hey!” Jax exclaimed. “What’s that over there?”
I looked over at the slanted wall, but didn’t really see anything. “Where?”
“Hold on,” Jax said. “Let me get a flashlight.”
She hopped over the debris and returned a few seconds later. Turning on the light she ran the beam over a large rectangular chest that had been shoved back as far as it would go and was partially covered in cobwebs.
“Think we should move it?” Jax walked closer to the chest, stooping down with the slant of the stairs above her.
“Don’t see why not,” I said. “Trevor said the whole area needed to be gutted. Give Mom the light, and we’ll each grab a side handle.”
Mom took the light as Jax and I each grabbed a handle and slid the chest forward enough on the ground to where we could pick it up without having to stoop over.
“It’s not heavy at all,” Jax said. “I expected it to be heavier.”
Since I was walking backward out of the closet, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to trip and drop it. But she was right, it wasn’t very heavy, just bulky and cumbersome.
“This is kind of exciting,” Tillie said. “Maybe we’ve stumbled over a buried treasure.”
I laughed. “Usually the treasure is buried, not stashed in a chest and walled over.”
“Set it down here,” Jax said.
I dropped my end onto the hardwood floor and stood back, examining the large chest. “I think it’s new, just made to look old. But even still, these things aren’t cheap. Why would you throw that money away by tossing it under a set of stairs and then building a wall in front of it?”
“Let’s open it and see what’s inside,” Jax said.
I smiled at her excitement. I had to admit, I was pretty excited too. No telling what was inside. I gripped the front handle and yanked the top up, figuring the hinges on the lid might be rusted shut. They weren’t, and the top opened effortlessly.
“That’s disappointing,” Jax said. “It’s just a tarp.”
“With a weird smell,” Mom added.
I reached down and yanked off the blue tarp.
And Jax screamed.
“Oh dear,” Tillie said. “That’s definitely not treasure.”
“Call 911,” I said. “Then call Mike. Better he hear this from us than through the dispatch call.”
Chapter 3
“Do we know of anyone reported missing?” I asked.
“I don’t know of anyone,” Jax said.
“Me either,” Mom agreed.
“I’ve called 911 and Mike,” Tillie said. “I guess I don’t have to tell you Mike was a little bit upset.”
Don’t even go there just yet, Jaycee.
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “Can’t get a physical ID from what we see here. But those clothes look fairly modern. Wouldn’t you guys say?”
“Jaycee,” Jax said, “look closely at the t-shirt. It’s a concert shirt. I don’t know who Death Doghouse is, but they toured in Santa Rosa four years ago.”
My mouth dropped. “Nice catch, sis!”
Due to the decayed nature of the body, it was impossible to see all the dates and cities, but that one was clear. “Tillie, you said this closet was like this when you moved in, right?”
“Yes.”
“So that means this body is at least six months old,” I said, “but no older than four years.”
Mom frowned. “I still don’t know of anyone who has been officially reported missing. I’d have remembered doing searches if the town had been put on alert.”
“I’ve been back living in Traveler’s Bay two and a half years now at least,” I said. “I would agree. I can’t remember anyone coming up missing.”
“I’m sure the police will be here any second,” Mom said. “We should probably wait outside. We’ve already contaminated the area by touching the chest, pulling the tarp off, and now standing around the body.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Tillie and I will grab the wine bottle and our wine glasses out of the kitchen,” Mom said.
“Good thinking,” Jax deadpanned. “We wouldn’t want to be without our booze close by.”
“You can thank me later,” Mom said.
Jax and I shuffled out the front door, shaking our heads and snickering. Although, Mom was probably right…before the night was over, we’d probably be thankful for another glass of wine.
I looked up at the main house and tried not to shiver. The sun had already set, and the moon was beginning to rise, giving the house an eerie glow. Turning to look back at the carriage house, Mom and Tillie leaned against the side of the small structure, sipping their wine and chatting. Jax and I wandered farther into the yard and elected to sit on the grass.
A few seconds later, I heard Jax groan. “Here comes all three men and Duke.”
I lifted my head off my knees and tried not to wince—not from the physical pain of having fallen through the wall, but from the lecture I knew was about to come my way…both from Gramps and Mike.
Not that Mike should really be surprised to see me standing over or near a dead body. In truth, by now it should be as commonplace to him as brushing his teeth. But he never seemed to accept that fact.
“Don’t yell at me right—”
But I didn’t get to finish. Mike hauled me up off the ground and wrapped me in a painful but pleasant bear hug.
“Are you okay?” he whispered against my ear.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just shaken. That was the last thing I expected to find tonight.”
“How’d you guys get here so fast?” Mom asked. “The police aren’t—”
She broke off as the first wave of officers came hurrying into the backyard, Officer Landry taking the lead. Right behind the police were firemen and emergency personnel.
“It’s just inside the door,” Mom said.
Landry nodded and motioned for the other men to follow him.
Ruff! Ruff!
“It’s okay, Duke,” Gramps said. “They’re here to help.”
Duke’s wrinkled and scowling face looked from Gramps to the other men hurrying inside the house. Deciding Gramps must be right, Duke let out a huff then plopped down on the ground.
“Mike and Trevor were at the bar,” Gramps said, “when Mike’s phone went off and then the police scanner lit up.”
Tillie patted Gramps’ shoulder. “Excellent response time, Colonel.”
Gramps leaned down and kissed her temple, but continued to stare at me. “You went straight through that wall, didn’t you?”
My mouth dropped. “How did you know?”
He snorted. “You still got chunks of drywall in your hair, your arm is scraped up, and you’re covered in white dust. Doesn’t take a genius.”
“I may have overestimated the strength it would take to actually stop the hammer when it went through the wall.”
“I tried to tell Jax it wouldn’t take much,” Trevor said.
I grinned. “I really wanted to use the sledgehammer.”
“I’ll need
to get a statement,” Officer Landry said as he ambled over to where we all stood.
“I got the tag from the chief on my drive over,” Mike said. “I’ll go in and look around in a minute. I just want to make sure Jaycee is okay.”
Landry nodded to Mike then gave me a tentative smile. “Not the way you thought you’d spend the evening, I bet.”
“Sure isn’t.”
The young officer withdrew a notepad and pen. “I’ll start with you, Jaycee. Why don’t you walk me through everything from the time you first walked into the house until the time you discovered the body. I’ll stop you if I have questions.”
As Mike kept a protective arm around my waist, I recalled everything I could remember and didn’t leave anything out. I even included our discussion about why someone would purposely put up a wall and block out all that storage.
“The closet is actually quite large,” Landry agreed.
“Plenty of room for a half bath,” I said.
Landry lifted an eyebrow and gave me a sly smile. “I would agree.”
Landry’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and then shoved it back in without answering. A few seconds later a ding let me know he’d received a text notification.
Before I could wonder about it, my own phone rang.
“It’s Bridget.” She had her own ringtone, so I didn’t need to even look at the phone. Officer Landry’s ears turned pink. “I take it you two are still seeing each other?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
I winked. “Bet that’s entertaining.”
He glanced back down at his notepad, but not before I noticed his lips twitch. “Just to clarify, your fingerprints, along with Jax’s, will be on the side handle, as well as the front handle. But they shouldn’t be anywhere inside the storage chest?”
“That’s right. I did touch the tarp, but no one else touched anything. I’m kicking myself we touched the handles. What if there’d been fingerprints on them?”
“Nothing can be done about that now,” Mike said. “No use beating yourself up.”
Who was this man, and what had he done with my fiancé?
Jax’s phone rang, and she decided to answer.
“Hey, Bridget.”
Landry, Mike, and I all snickered and shook our heads. Of course Bridget would find someone to finally reach.
“When I know more I’ll call,” Jax said. “Yes, tell Heidi Fireman Josh is still here.” She looked over and rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, he looks sexy in his fireman outfit.”
Trevor lifted an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Grinning, Jax bumped her hip against him. She said a few more words then hung up. “I swear, those girls are insane.”
“I think I have everything I need from you, Jaycee,” Landry said. “Jax, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions and clarify some things with you.”
Mike gave me a squeeze. “I’m going to go inside and help with the investigation.”
“Officer Landry,” Gramps said, “can I take Jaycee, Tillie, and Elizabeth over to the back patio so we can sit while you talk with Jax?”
Landry nodded. “Of course, Colonel.”
Gramps, Mom, Tillie, and I strolled over to the back patio and sat silently watching the hustle and bustle coming from the carriage house. Mom poured the last of the wine into a glass and handed it to me.
“What a night,” I said, taking a big gulp.
Gramps shook his head, then started to chuckle. “Only you would knock down a wall and find a dead body in a trunk.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know. Just my bad luck.”
“Coroner’s coming out,” Mom said. “Guess they’ll be ready to remove the body soon.”
By the time Officer Landry finished questioning everyone, and the evidence had all been gathered, it was well after nine o’clock. The crime scene tape had been placed over the front door, and we were given strict instructions not to enter until either Mike or Officer Landry said it was okay.
“You girls sleeping here tonight,” Mom asked, “or—”
“Attic,” Jax and I both said.
Chapter 4
“Were you able to get an ID on the body?” Mom asked the next morning as she handed Mike his coffee. “Or is it too soon for something like that?”
“Not officially.” He grabbed bacon off the plate as it was passed around. “While there was a wallet found on the remains, that doesn’t mean anything. It will take the guys in the lab a little while to restore the fingerprints. Due to the nature of the body, it’s not your standard run.”
“But there is a tentative ID?” I asked.
Mike took a big bite of the bacon and did an exaggerated chew.
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “Half this town owns a police scanner, so you know people are already talking. A name is bound to surface.”
“Could be,” Mike agreed. “But it won’t be by me.”
“When do you think they’ll release the carriage house back to us?” Jax asked.
“Probably sometime today or tomorrow,” Mike said.
“I’ll start on the bathroom renovation as soon as possible,” Trevor said.
My phone chirped with an incoming text.
“It’s from Heidi,” I said. “She and Bridget will be at Gone with the Whiskey for lunch.”
“And she just felt the need to text you that?” Mike said skeptically.
I grinned and slipped Duke a tiny piece of bacon. “Oh, I’m sure there’s a reason behind it.”
Mike grunted and finished off his breakfast.
“How’s your job coming, Trevor?” Mom asked.
“Good. I should finish with the Harrington’s pergola sometime this week.”
“Then where?” Mike asked.
“I was going to start a new bathroom addition for the Andersons over on Sequoia Avenue. They’re taking in his mother and will need an extra bathroom.”
Mike looked at his watch. “I need to go. Chief wants everyone in early to do a briefing this morning.” Mike leveled his gaze at me. “Please stay out of trouble today.”
“Cross my heart.”
Gramps, Mike, and Duke snorted.
***
“Can you believe it?” Heidi asked as she and Bridget hurried through the front door of Gone with the Whiskey. “I mean, I know it’s not official or anything, but I just feel awful for his parents.”
I set the monthly special, Pumpkin Paradise, in front of Maria Sanchez before scurrying back to the bar. Duke perked up at the commotion and fell in step next to me. “Who? Who was it?”
Bridget blinked in surprise. “You haven’t heard? I figured Mike would have called by now to tell you not to stick your nose in where it didn’t belong.”
Heidi and Bridget fist bumped and howled with laughter. Even Duke got involved and snorted out what sounded like a laugh. Scowling, I plopped down on an empty barstool next to mom. “You two are a hoot. Now, if you’re done, why don’t you tell us what you’ve heard?”
“First off,” Gramps said, “can I get you two girls something?”
“Pumpkin Paradise,” Heidi said.
“Make it two,” Bridget added.
The Pumpkin Paradise was a dessert and drink combo. Jax baked boozy pumpkin squares with an Amaretto cream cheese frosting, and I paired it with a pumpkin apple sangria—chardonnay, apple juice, pumpkin, mixed with chopped Granny Smiths and garnished with a cinnamon stick.
“So, who was it?” I repeated as Gramps went to work getting the order around.
“David Saddler,” Heidi said.
I repeated the name. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“David Saddler?” Mom mused. “I vaguely recall something years back.”
“I’ll need it from the top,” Tillie said.
“I’ll start,” Heidi said. “I know this story from David’s aunt who is a friend of ours. She told Bridget and me some of it when it happened years ago, but now that it looks like David was murdered, I calle
d her about an hour ago to see how she’s doing. Obviously she’s upset and with her sister, David’s mom, waiting to hear confirmation.”
“And it’s pretty common knowledge around town who the body is,” Bridget added. “So it’s not like we had to do some kind of formal interview that might get a frown-y face from Mike.”
I laughed. “I’m sure he’d still find a reason to frown-y face.”
“About three years ago this past July,” Heidi said, “David Saddler typed a letter saying he was leaving town because he’d found a job in San Francisco. The note said not to worry, he’d write when he got settled. He left it under the windshield wiper of his dad’s car.”
“That’s it?” I mused.
“There’s no way his parents were happy with that,” Mom added. “I’d freak if Jaycee or Jax did something so impulsive.”
Bridget shook her head. “They weren’t satisfied.”
Heidi held up her hand. “Wait, let me get there. So the parents received this letter, but you need to know what happened to David a month before this took place and about his life up to that point.”
Gramps slid the Pumpkin Paradise in front of Heidi.
“David was kind of a thug or punk or whatever term kids are using nowadays,” Heidi said. “He hung out with a couple of pretty tough kids, he had run-ins with the law, but he wasn’t really a bad kid. I remember his aunt getting all worked up every time he’d get in trouble. It’s like the kid was a magnet for bad decisions and disaster.”
“I can understand that last part,” I joked.
Heidi laughed and took a sip of her drink. “This is yummy! So anyway, he’d been seeing this girl, Jayla Parker, for a couple years in high school. They were pretty serious, went to prom and all that. He had two friends he was tight with, Logan Blevins and Manny Lopez. All three boys had run-ins with the law for years as juveniles.”
“Thanks,” Bridget said as Gramps slid her order to her.
“Those Blevinses are bad news,” Gramps said. “They own the Blevins Auto Body Shop right outside town, but they’re as dirty as they come.”
Whispering Walls & Murder Page 2
