Burgers and Bodies

by Gretchen Allen

  “Are you with the diner?” the man asked.

  “Yes. Josslyn Rockwell.” She extended a hand.

  “I’m Andy. I live here, but I’m going to stay out of your way. Unless you need help, of course. Do you need help? What am I saying? You’re here alone, you’re going to need help.”

  “Wow,” Joss said, taken aback by Andy. “I think I’ll be okay. I do have quite a few things to carry in, though, so if you have any pets or children, you may want to keep an eye on them while I take care of that. I’ll be opening the door several times.”

  “None of that here.” Andy chuckled. “Only me. I’m not a child, but I feel like one. Natasha is on fire tonight. All over the place, dusting things that I don’t even think can gather dust. She’s been ordering me around all afternoon, so if I accidentally get lost, you know why. Are you sure you don’t need any help? Maybe if she sees me helping you, she’ll take a few things off my honey-do list.”

  Joss wasn’t sure what to make of Andy. He was undoubtedly very high-strung. She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, but he was definitely making Natasha sound like the queen of tasks. If that was a sign of how the evening would go, she wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “Joss? I’m Natasha. Don’t pay any attention to him. This is our first get together in our new home, and he’s just nervous. Feel free to utilize him as you see fit. He’s great for carrying in heavy things. The big, strong man that he is.” Natasha laughed, patting Andy on the back.

  “Okay, sure. I could use a little help,” Joss agreed. She figured it’d be easier to just accept the help than keep going back and forth like this, considering she was still standing in the doorway.

  “Great! What can I do?” Andy asked.

  “Follow me.” Joss gestured.

  Andy and Joss carried in everything from the catering van. Joss felt bad for Andy and would normally never allow a client to help her set things up, but she made an exception for him. Together, they set up the tables, laid the table runners over the tops, and placed all of the display trays over them. Joss had the food prepared and ready to go and would put it out once it got a bit closer to the actual time of the event.

  “What do I do with these? Are they extra?” Andy asked, holding the red linens in his hand, and glancing out the window.

  “They can go back in the box. I always bring extra just in case something spills. I hate seeing a messy table runner under all the beautiful food.”

  “Okay. Well, is there anything else I can do to help? Please,” Andy begged. “This was really fun. Much more fun than any project Natasha had for me.”

  “Not really.” Joss laughed. “I just have to bring the boxes back out to the van. Now that they’re empty, I’ll have no trouble at all handling them.”

  “How about I do it for you anyway? Maybe you can go chat with Natasha. Calm her down a bit. I know she said I was the nervous one which I am, but this is a pretty big deal for her. It’s our new house, and we’ve got so many people coming, I know she wants to impress them.”

  “Uhh, okay.” Joss nodded. “The van is unlocked, go ahead and put everything in the back. I’ll go let Natasha know we’re done.”

  Andy was acting strangely, but then again, he’d been acting that way since she’d arrived. He apparently really wanted to help, so rather than cause any trouble, she just agreed.

  “Great,” Andy said, picking up a box.

  After a half-hour or so, the guests started to arrive. Joss wasn’t sure why she had to be there for the entire evening. While there were a lot of guests, there was also a lot of food already out on display. She wasn’t sure they’d even go through the first round, never mind need more. No wonder Judy was shocked at the price. Her business partner had spared no expense.

  Joss was unfamiliar with most of the people that were at Natasha and Andy’s house. Other than Judy, who she hadn’t even really met, Joss was on her own. She did her best to introduce herself to everyone that she could, she also met a few people who were from out of town and loved the food so much they promised to visit the diner the next time they were in the area.

  Things were beginning to wind down, and Joss felt like she’d had a great night. Despite the fact that the job was last-minute, and she was basically unprepared, everything went really well.

  “Have you seen Andy?” Natasha asked.

  “I just saw him a minute ago. He asked if I needed any help, and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I told him he could grab the boxes for me from my van,” Joss replied.

  “I see.” Natasha nodded. “Well, when he comes back can you have him come find me please? I’m going out back for some air.”

  “Of course,” Joss agreed.

  Moments later, there was some commotion coming from just outside the front door. Joss ran outside to see if someone was hurt.

  She looked around, not seeing anyone.

  “Whose house is this and why are you here?!” a woman’s voice yelled.

  Joss scanned the dark street, looking for people.

  “Lower your voice. What are you doing here, Crystal?” Andy asked.

  “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You said you had to be on-site all week for work, and that’s why you couldn’t be home. But then I find out from my mother, of all people, that you were seen driving around town. So, of course, she followed you here and called me. Don’t make me go in there and find out. Whose house is this!?” the woman’s voice grew louder, Joss finally realizing they were on the side of the house in the yard.

  “It’s one of my coworkers. He and his fiancée are having a memorial for her uncle, and I was invited since he worked with us. I didn’t plan on coming until he said there wouldn’t be many people attending and he felt bad for his fiancée. See, there’s basically no one here,” Andy said

  Joss couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Andy was completely lying to whoever the person was that he was talking to. There had been dozens of people there not too long ago. And, to top it all off, he lied and said it was a coworkers house. She knew getting in the middle of whatever was going on probably wasn’t smart, but she couldn’t just stand there and let him lie.

  She cleared her throat, taking a few exaggerated steps across the porch toward the side of the house where the voices were coming from, trying to make herself heard.

  “Who’s there?! Is that one of your friends?” the woman asked. “Let me go introduce myself.”

  “No! Let’s just get out of here. Come on,” Andy said, pulling the woman by the hand through the yard and across the street to a car.

  “This is ridiculous. You’re lying to me, and I won’t stand for it!” the woman yelled.

  Andy looked toward the porch, seeing Joss. “I’m not lying to you, but this isn’t the time or the place to have that conversation. Let’s just go have a nice night somewhere. I’ll take you out to eat. Come on, don’t cause a scene here. It’s a sad time for their family.” He opened the car door, letting the woman in, looking at Joss again. This time, his look felt different.

  Joss was uncomfortable and raced inside looking for Natasha, wondering if she’d been able to hear what had happened. If Joss could hear it from the front of the house, Natasha would have been able to hear it from the back.

  Chapter Seven

  “I can’t believe it. What did you say to Natasha?” Tyla asked.

  “I didn’t. That was the weird part, believe it or not. I think she may have heard the whole thing happen, though. I didn’t see her when I got back in the house. There were only two or three people left, one of them her business partner, but she said Natasha came running in the house through the back door with tears in her eyes. Judy said she tried to ask what was wrong but that Natasha just ran upstairs to her room. By the time I left, no one else was there. I didn’t even see Judy, but I assume she was upstairs with Natasha by that time.”

  “Yikes. What a crazy thing to have happened. Who do you think the other woman was?” Tyla asked, eagerly watching Joss�
�s every move.

  “I have no idea.” Joss shook her head. “Andy and Natasha were engaged, so it seems weird to think he had a girlfriend.”

  “Did you tell Judy?”

  “No. It’s none of my business, really. I’m not even sure what I would have said to Natasha if I had seen her. It’s an uncomfortable situation, and it’s not like they’re my friends. I’m just the hired help.”

  “I get that, but I’d want to know if it were me.” Tyla shrugged.

  “Like I said, I’m pretty sure she already knew. Why else would she have run off crying? I mean, this was bad enough, I’m hoping there wasn’t something else that upset her that badly.”

  “True. Either way, I don’t envy either of you. I hope she’s okay,” Tyla said, stacking the last box on the shelf in the stockroom. “I’m gonna go check out front to see if Dina needs anything.”

  Joss continued organizing the shelves. After a catering job, everything needed to be put away and inventoried. She’d verified that everything was good to go so far and only had a couple of boxes left. While she was technically on the schedule for the day, there’d been an accidental over-scheduling, and there were three waitresses there. Joss let Dina and Tyla take care of the dining room while she worked on the project. She was considering asking if she could take the rest of the day off since there was coverage for her to do so.

  “Joss,” Tyla called. “There’s someone here to see you.”

  “Be right out,” she replied, hoping Ryan had come in to see her.

  Joss pushed the last of the boxes out of the walkway and got up, brushing herself off. When she came around the corner and looked into the dining room, she saw Ryan. He was sitting at a table and not at his usual stool. A woman was sitting across from him, but before Joss was able to think about it, Verona Price stopped in front of her.

  “Verona. Hi. Jeez. I almost ran you down. Excuse me,” Joss said, attempting to go around her.

  “Actually, I was hoping you had a moment,” Verona said, holding up her hand.

  “Oh. Yeah, sure. What’s up? Was your food okay?” Joss asked, automatically assuming it was related to the diner. Why else would the Chief of Police in Lemon Bay need to talk to her?

  “Do you have a place where we could chat?” Verona asked.

  “Of course.” Joss turned around and led the way to Luke’s office.

  “Do you have something more private?” Verona asked, looking around the room.

  Joss raised a brow. “Sure. Follow me.”

  When the women arrived in the stockroom, Joss felt like they were hiding out. What could possibly be so important and secretive?

  “Perfect. So, I came here because I had a few questions. I knew you’d be working today and felt that you would be cooperative. That’s the reason I came here rather than calling you down to the station,” Verona said, pulling out a small notebook.

  “Calling me down to the station?! What on earth for?” Joss’s eyes widened.

  “Do you mind telling me where you were last night?” Verona asked.

  “At a catering job,” Joss said, relieved that she had an answer.

  “Can you be more specific?”

  “347 High Street. At Natasha Farrell’s house. She was hosting a business event.” Joss’s hands were shaking. She didn’t know why she was nervous, but she was.

  “What time did you leave?” Verona asked, jotting something down.

  “I guess it was a little after ten,” Joss replied.

  “This isn’t a time for guessing.” The look on Verona’s face was serious.

  “I’d say it was somewhere between ten-twenty and ten-thirty, but I wasn’t exactly watching the clock. Can I ask what this is about?”

  “An open homicide investigation,” Verona said matter-of-factly. “How well did you know Natasha Farrell?”

  Joss stood still, staring at Verona, but not saying a word.

  “Joss. How well did you know Natasha?” Verona asked again.

  “Not well. I didn’t know her at all, really. Is she… what happened?” Joss asked, leaning against the wall for support.

  “Natasha Farrell was found dead in her home this morning. If there is anything you can tell me about last night that might be helpful, now is the time to share.” Verona looked up from her notebook, eyes on Joss.

  Joss lowered herself to the floor. “I umm. Well… I,” she stuttered. “How did she… you know? How did it happen?”

  “Is there anything you can tell me about last night?” Verona ignored the question.

  Joss certainly hadn’t expected the person she’d be explaining the scene between Andy and the other woman to would be Verona. She did her best to recount what she’d heard the evening before. Trying to include everything, even the beginning of the night when Andy had been acting strangely, which could have been a completely normal thing for him. “So, that’s it. That’s all I know,” she finished.

  “Sounds like an eventful night.” Verona frowned.

  “Not really. Not until all that happened. I don’t know who the woman with Andy was, and I didn’t really get a good look at her either.”

  “Those were my next questions.” Verona nodded. “Thank you for your help. I’ll be in touch.”

  Joss put her hands on the floor, beginning to get up when Verona spoke again.

  “Hey, Joss. Do me a favor and stay in town. If you need to leave Lemon Bay for any reason, any reason at all, make sure you contact me first.”

  Joss lowered herself down again, watching Verona walk away. When she’d first left the stockroom to see who was there for her, she saw Ryan with another woman. She’d thought that was going to be her biggest worry for the day.

  Chapter Eight

  “Thanks for coming with me,” Joss said.

  “That’s what friends are for.” Tyla grinned. “Plus, I love this kind of thing. Seeing all these different houses is so cool!”

  Joss and Tyla pulled into the driveway of the first house on their list. They were going around town looking at the neighborhoods where all of the available houses for rent were to see what Joss thought of them. She knew nothing had happened with her house yet, and she still hadn’t heard from Brandon, but this was a great way to get her mind off what had happened to Natasha. She’d gotten a call from Ryan, but just let it go to voicemail. House hunting was her way of ignoring the other parts of her reality.

  “Looks like a nice neighborhood,” Joss pointed out, taking in all of the well-manicured homes and lawns that lined the street.

  “The house is so cute!” Tyla exclaimed, hopping out of the car.

  “What are you doing?” Joss asked through the open window.

  “Going to look inside. Isn’t that what we’re here for?” Tyla asked.

  “I didn’t plan on looking at anything inside. We don’t even know if people live here or not. The online listings are wrong sometimes. What if someone already rented it and they’re inside while you’re peering in their windows?”

  “That’s crazy. Why would they be listed if someone already moved in?” Tyla marched across the lawn, and onto the porch, cupping her hands to look inside the front window.

  “Can I help you?” a woman asked.

  Joss jumped in her seat. “I’m so sorry. Do you live here? I knew it! Tyla!”

  “I’m Rachel. I just moved in.”

  “Tyla!” Joss called again. “I’m so sorry. This house was on our list of places that were for rent.”

  “It’s no problem. I hope you find something. I spent forever finding the perfect place.”

  “Hey! I’m Tyla. Sorry about that. Great house, though.” She laughed.

  “Are you new in town, Rachel?” Joss asked.

  “I am. I’ve only been here a few weeks. It was nice to meet you both. What did you say your name was again?”

  “Sorry again.” Joss shook her head. “I’m Josslyn. It was nice to meet you. Welcome to Lemon Bay!”

  “We should go,” Tyla said out of nowhere.
>
  “I have to get going, anyway. It’s almost time for work,” Rachel said, waving.

  “She seemed nice. Too bad she had a stranger looking in her windows when she came home. How embarrassing!” Joss said, trying not to laugh.

  “She did seem nice, but ummm…” Tyla hesitated. “I’ve seen her before.”

  “Okay. Where?” Joss asked.

  “At the diner yesterday. With Ryan…” Tyla said slowly as though she were afraid to say the words.

  “Oh.”

  Joss didn’t know what to say. She and Ryan weren’t exclusive, or even official for that matter. She had no right to be upset. After all, Ryan had spent a long time trying to get her to go on a date with him, and she’d said no every time. It wasn’t until recently they’d even gone out. If Ryan had somehow met Rachel, even though she was new in town, and asked her out, and she said yes right away, maybe that’s what Ryan was looking for. Not to have to chase someone down for a date.

  “I’m sorry,” Tyla said.

  “Don’t be.” Joss brushed it off. “It’s totally fine. Let’s go look at the next house, but promise you won’t be a peeping tom this time.”

  “Okay. Let’s talk about something else,” Tyla said, looking unsure.

  “I do have something you might be able to help me with that I’ve been wondering about…”

  “Shoot. What can I do?”

  “Find out from Austin how Natasha was killed?” Joss said, putting the car in gear.

  “Oh, boy. Just because I’m dating a cop’s brother doesn’t mean I can just find things out that easily.” Tyla tsked. “He probably doesn’t even know. It’s not like Verona calls Austin to tell him about her homicide investigations.”

  “True, but you have a better chance at finding out than I do. There haven’t really been any details released yet. I think it’s all just sort of strange,” Joss said, braking at a stop sign and looking at Tyla.

  “Strange because you saw Natasha’s fiancé arguing with another woman outside and then Natasha was randomly found dead the next morning? Uhh, yeah. I’d say that was pretty strange, too. Not that hard to figure out, though. It seems like a pretty cut and dry case to me.”