Burgers and Bodies

by Gretchen Allen

  “It was weird because she seemed shocked to find out that he even worked here. She said she hadn’t seen him in days and knew it was the time he told her he went for his cut and shave every week, so she decided to stop in, hoping he’d be there.”

  “Is she still there?” Joss asked.

  “Not at the barber, but I’m outside talking to you, and I saw her go into a fast-food place across the plaza.”

  “Did you catch her name? Actually, never mind. Can you do me a favor? It’s kind of crazy.”

  “I didn’t hear her name. What do you need me to do?”

  “Can you get a picture of her? Like, go over by the restaurant or her car or something and try to secretly snap a picture? I didn’t see the woman the night of the event very well, but if I saw her again, it might help. It might not even be the same person, knowing how friendly Andy seems to be with the ladies, so if you can’t do it, it’s totally fine.

  “I’m on my way. I’ll call you back.”

  Joss heard silence on the other end of the line. Tyla had already hung up and was likely trying her best to stealthily make her way over to where the other woman was, all while trying to keep Austin from paying attention to what she was doing. Joss knew her best friend all too well.

  “Hey, ladies,” Garth said, coming around the corner from the kitchen.

  “I thought you were on vacation?” Dina asked, looking surprised.

  “I am.” Garth nodded. “I only came to pick up my paycheck. You wouldn’t have to twist my arm too hard to get me to work, though. Vacations aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. I’ve been bored since it started.”

  “I have something that might help!” Joss exclaimed, hopping up and going to the office. “Here. Now you can go do something fun and enjoy your vacation a little more with this unexpected cash!”

  “What is this for?” Garth asked, pulling out a one-hundred-dollar bill from the envelope.

  Dina eyed Joss, clearly eager for an answer as well.

  “It’s the tip from that catering job,” Joss explained.

  “Dang. I don’t have any change to break it in half, does the register?” Garth asked, pulling out his wallet.

  “It’s yours,” Joss said.

  “All of it?” Garth was surprised.

  “I told you I’d split the tip if we got one since you helped me out so much.”

  “Must be nice,” Dina said, looking at Garth.

  Ignoring her, Garth spoke, “I thought the event didn’t go well. I’m surprised we got anything at all.”

  “The event went great. It was what happened afterward that was the problem. It was actually a few days later when I got this. Judy, the business partner of the woman that was killed, sent one of their employees here to give it to me. I was surprised, too. Who would have thought that a little event for a small business would have earned us such a great tip?!”

  “This is great. I’m glad I stopped by. Now, I can pay my bills and still do something fun. It’s my lucky day!” Garth chuckled.

  “Me, too! Let’s do it again sometime. Minus the murder, of course.” Joss laughed, passing Garth his paycheck from under the cash register drawer.

  “Thanks, Joss. And thanks to you too Dina for deciding not to do the event. I’d never have gotten this,” Garth said, waving the cash.

  “I didn’t decide anything. And don’t act like I wouldn’t have shared the tip.” Dina dropped her silverware in the bucket and left the room.

  “She’s a real peach, huh?” Garth mused, watching Dina stomp off. “She’d never have shared the tip either, by the way.”

  “She’s mad at me and acting like a child. One of these days, it’s going to come back and bite her. She’s going to have no choice but to talk to me.”

  “Have fun with all that,” Garth said, getting ready to leave. “I’m going to hit some golf balls with my extra money. See ya later.”

  Since her side-work was complete, Joss clocked out of work and pulled out her phone. She’d been waiting to hear back from Tyla, but while she was busy chatting with Garth, she’d missed a call and a text from her. Opening the text, Joss couldn’t help but be simultaneously entertained at Tyla’s craziness and thrilled with what she saw.

  “I don’t have a picture to send you. I’m sorry. But what I do have is information. I was trying hard to be sneaky, and it was an epic fail. She totally caught me trying to take her picture, and it was super awkward. Anyway, her name is Crystal, she’s Andy’s wife, and she wants to meet with you privately. She said PRIVATELY! I’m going with you, though, because if she’s a killer, I’ll feel terrible sending you on your own. Call me when you get this. We’ll go today.”

  Andy was married to Crystal and engaged to Natasha. He lied about where he worked and lived, and no one in Natasha’s inner circle seemed to like him. He certainly had the jerk factor going for him, but he had a wife and a fiancée… if that wasn’t a motive for murder for Crystal, then Joss didn’t know what was.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Joss asked, feeling anxious.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be the murder solver here? It’ll be okay. We’re in a public place, and I’ll be nearby. I’m wearing a disguise, see.” Tyla held up her hat and glasses.

  “Great disguise.” Joss rolled her eyes. “Make sure you sit with your back to her.”

  Joss and Tyla had arrived thirty-minutes early to the coffee shop where Crystal had agreed to meet. They wanted to make sure that they were there before her so they could get their seats so Tyla would be able to sit close enough to overhear, but not be recognized.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna order a coffee so I’m ready. I’ll be nice and caffeinated in case we need to chase her or something. How fun would that be?” Tyla squealed.

  “A blast.” Joss rolled her eyes again, settling in and making sure Tyla’s jacket was draped over the booth behind her to save her seat.

  “Okay, I’m ready. Do you know what you are going to say to her?” Tyla asked. “Helloooo. Why aren’t you answering me?”

  “Crystal?” Joss said, loud enough to shut Tyla up.

  “I remember you,” Crystal said, sitting down across from Joss. “From the diner.”

  “That’s right. I remember you too. You seemed to be upset that day.”

  “I was. And I suppose this is how the world works, too. It all comes together, doesn’t it? When you saw me that day, I hadn’t said more than two words to my husband in four days. I’d call him, and every time he’d claim he was busy with work, or on a construction site and couldn’t talk. I was sick and tired of the way things were going, and I still am. While showing my feelings in public isn’t something I typically like to do, I’m sort of glad that I did. Now, here we are,” Crystal said, picking up her menu.

  “Excuse me, but I’m just going to be blunt. I don’t think we are going to get anywhere beating around the bush. Is Andy really your husband?” Joss asked.

  “We are still legally married, yes. We’ve been separated for some time now, but we were working things out. Or, at least we were supposed to be.”

  Joss moved around in her seat, hoping the next few minutes weren’t going to be as awkward as she expected them to be.

  “My friend Tyla, the one you met at the barbershop…” Joss began.

  “Yes. Let’s get it all out of the way,” Crystal said. “I went to see him there because it was his normal weekly appointment time. I guess that really wasn’t the truth, though. You can’t imagine how I felt when I walked in there, after not seeing him for days, only to find out that he doesn’t just get his hair cut there, he works there.”

  “Does he not really work in construction?” Joss asked.

  “Beats me. I don’t know much of anything anymore. He lied about where he worked, and he lied about where he lived. He lied about everything.” Crystal tossed the menu down.

  Joss took a deep breath, realizing she’d just had the same thoughts herself about all of
Andy’s lies. “I saw you talking to him.”

  “I know. Your friend told me. You could have said something. Told me the truth or something.”

  “And say what? I didn’t know who you were or why you were there. I don’t even know Andy or Natasha either,” Joss explained.

  Crystal froze. “Don’t mention her name again.”

  “Okay.” Joss nodded. “I won’t. Have you seen Andy at all?”

  “Why? You just finished saying you didn’t know him. Why does it matter?” Crystal asked. “Unless you were seeing him too, and if that’s the case, then this conversation is going to go an entirely different way.”

  Joss sighed. “Of course I wasn’t seeing him.”

  “Wasn’t? So, does that mean you weren’t then but were at one point?” Crystal raised her voice.

  Joss’s phone buzzed. She picked it up, glancing at the text message from Tyla. Jealous much?

  “I never dated him. I never had feelings for him. In fact, I’d never even met him until that night. You seem to think that Andy saw several women on the side. Is that true?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him. But to answer your question, no, I haven’t seen him. Not since the night that…wretch…got herself killed. As you know, Andy and I left together. We went back to our…my house and talked for hours. Until now, I’d have stuck up for him and lied for him until I turned blue in the face, but now that I have to talk to strangers about our relationship, I give up. I’m not going to be embarrassed anymore. Andy didn’t stay at my house all night. We talked and then he left. He said that it would make things confusing if he stayed over, so he left, saying he was going to get a hotel room.”

  “Did you believe him?” Joss asked.

  “I mean, I guess. I’m not sure why since I apparently can’t trust him at all anymore, but at the time, I saw no reason to think that he wasn’t actually going to a hotel.”

  Joss nodded. “And you haven’t heard from him since? Don’t you think that’s a little strange?”

  “Yes. I do. That’s why I’m here. I’m not done with him yet. He needs to know how he made me feel. Your friend told me you liked to find details related to things like this, and I wanted to meet with you so we could talk. I thought maybe you could provide me with some information about where he is.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t have any answers for you,” Joss said.

  “I knew this would be a waste of time.” Crystal waved a hand to call over the waitress. “I’m ordering food, so it’s not a totally wasted trip.”

  “Listen,” Joss whispered. “Just because I don’t know where your husband is, doesn’t mean you get to be rude. You asked to meet me, not the other way around. I came here to find out if Andy killed Natasha.” She enunciated her name and drew it out as long as she could knowing Crystal wouldn’t like it.

  The waitress came over, and Joss apologized, telling her they needed a few more minutes.

  “Andy?” Crystal scoffed. “You came here to ask me if I thought Andy killed someone? The same Andy who screamed when he saw a bug? The one who was afraid to be outside alone at night? Please, I always had to do the dirty work for him, because he was anxious over everything. He may have been a liar, a fast-talker, and a cheater, but he couldn’t have killed someone.”

  Joss could agree that Andy seemed anxious, but one thing that wasn’t adding up was that he didn’t like to be outside alone at night. If Crystal was telling the truth, then why did Andy offer to carry out the boxes at night by himself from the catering event?

  “He was outside alone on the night I saw you and him talking,” Joss pointed out, hoping for an honest answer.

  “I suppose that’s true. But he was a bumbling fool too. Seconds before he realized I was there, he dropped whatever he was carrying, the contents spilling out all over the porch and down the stairs. It couldn’t have been me that surprised him because he hadn’t even seen me yet. I stand by what I said. Andy couldn’t have killed her. He didn’t have it in him.” Crystal raised a hand calling over the waitress again.

  Andy dropped the box he’d been carrying which was likely the noise that Joss had heard right before she’d gone outside to check on things. The only thing in those boxes other than a couple of extra display trays and some utensils were the extra table runners. The red linen cloth that was wrapped around Natasha’s neck. That gave both Crystal and Andy, and anyone who was left at the house that night a prime means of killing Natasha. If Andy dropped a table runner, and then was distracted by seeing Crystal, anyone there could have picked it up and used it to kill Natasha. Joss needed to find out who had access to the house and the time of her death. Crystal said Andy left in the middle of the night, and he had access to the house, but no real motive. Crystal didn’t have easy access to the house, but it wasn’t impossible, and she definitely had motive. Judy had the motive and opportunity, and from what Joss knew, was still inside the house when she’d left for the night. This wasn’t getting any easier. They needed to get out of there and talk. Joss needed Tyla to get information from Austin or Verona.

  “Thank you for your time. I’m glad we met, but I have to be going. If you hear anything from Andy, please let me know.” Joss took a few bills from her purse, placing them on the table. “Your meal is on me.”

  Crystal looked up at Joss. “I’d say for you to call me if you heard from him too, but I think if I saw him right now, I’d ring his scrawny little neck.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What’s going on? You’re here for the second time in a week after your normal time. Are you playing tricks on me?” Joss joked.

  “I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes,” Jack said. “Are you busy right now?”

  “If you give me a few minutes, I can step outside. Is everything okay?”

  “I’ll let you decide that. I’ll be outside.”

  Joss checked on her tables and asked Luke to ask Dina to watch them while she was gone because, of course, Dina still wasn’t speaking to her.

  “What’s going on? Are you alright?” Joss asked again.

  “I’m doing just fine. Do you remember the people I came in here with the other day?” Jack asked.

  Joss nodded.

  “Well, Ernie and I have been friends for years, and he’s worried about his granddaughter. He claims she’s been acting strangely, has taken all this time off from work, but spends all her time in her office alone. He’s worried that she’s not handling things well.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not sure why you’re telling me.”

  “Ernie has tried to go to Gloria’s office several times, and she won’t let him in. I know this isn’t in your job description as a waitress, but I thought maybe you could check on her or something. You two are about the same age, and you are always so easy to talk to. Then there’s that whole thing with you solving crime. You’re right. It’s a bad idea, forget I even mentioned anything.” Jack began to walk away, not even letting her speak.

  “Not on your life, mister. I can definitely check on her. Do you have her address?”

  “I don’t. All I know is that she works for herself and has a little office somewhere in the city.” Jack frowned.

  “Wait!” Joss exclaimed. “When you were here before, she gave me her business card. I’m sure it’s on there. I’ll give her a call or maybe stop by to see if I can help. I’m not sure what I’ll really be able to do. You aren’t thinking she killed her cousin or anything, are you? I don’t want to be purposely walking into a bad situation.”

  “I don’t think it’s that serious. I just think she needs someone to talk to. Normally, from what Ernie says, she’s full of life and always there to help him with things he can’t handle on his own. I just get the feeling that something isn’t right.”

  “Of course. I’ll do everything I can,” Joss agreed, feeling bad. She didn’t think there was anything she could do to make a person feel better after losing a family member. It wasn’t just not in her j
ob description, it was something she’d never had to do before, but when someone asked her for help, she always had a hard time declining.

  Joss had called Tyla, Bridget, Ryan, and even considered asking Dina to come with her to see Gloria. Honestly, if Dina hadn’t been the only one working at the diner, she may have asked her even though Dina still wasn’t speaking to her. No one was answering her calls, so that meant she’d have to go on her own. Joss plugged in the address from the business card that Gloria had given her and drove the forty-minutes to the city.

  When Joss pulled into the parking lot, she was surprised. The small building stood on its own, with nothing on either side of it. Gloria must be doing well with her business to have such a great office space that she wasn’t sharing with anyone. She looked around, not seeing any other vehicles nearby, assuming that Gloria wasn’t there. Figuring she’d give it a shot anyway; Joss got out of her car and went to the front door of the building.

  “Knock, knock,” she said, trying the door. “Is anyone here?”

  Hearing nothing, she put her hands to the door to block the light and peered inside. At first, the only thing she saw was a loveseat and a couple of chairs in what looked to be the waiting room. Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw movement. Her heart racing, she blinked a few times and looked again. Beginning to laugh, Joss shook her head. She’d seen movement alright, but it was just herself that she saw. There was a mirror in the room, where she could see her reflection. She’d been scared for no reason. Walking around the side of the building to see if there was more parking in the back, where Gloria’s vehicle may be, Joss saw a window. She usually wasn’t much of a snooper, but this time, things got the better of her. Not tall enough to see inside, she rolled a large rock that was near the door over toward the window and looked around, making sure no one was nearby. She stepped on the rock and looked through the window. While she couldn’t see much through the slats of the blinds, what she could see knocked her right off the rock.