by Renee George
I put everything back the way I’d found it and locked the drawer up and replaced the key, then went to the bedroom next. I went through each drawer as I had the desk. Nothing but clothing, which had been neatly folded and organized by size and color.
I got down on all fours and reached my hand under the bed where I’d seen the sparkle the night before. It was a large hoop earring, with an unmistakable crisscrossing pattern. My stomach dropped.
It was Reggie’s.
Maybe she’d lost it when she’d come to examine the body.
I shook my head. No. When she’d arrived at the crime scene, she hadn’t been wearing the hoops. For that matter, I hadn’t seen her wearing those earrings since our girls’ night out last Tuesday. Crap.
I pocketed the hoop and searched the rest of the room for more evidence that might implicate that my friend had a more-than-professional relationship with the deceased.
I locked up Donnie’s house, put the key back under the rock, then drove straight to Reggie’s home. Smooshie laid her head across my lap, curiously quiet. I knew she felt the thread of tension running through me. Reggie’s house was a three-bedroom, three-car-garage mini-mansion. At least, it was a mansion compared to the shack I’d bought. Smooshie and I got out and strode to the front door. I rang the doorbell. Then again. And again. And a couple more times after that.
I heard Reggie holler, “Just a damn minute.”
I glanced down a Smoosh. “Maybe the five rings were overkill.”
The dog’s tongue lolled out the side of her mouth, and she panted hard, which I interpreted to mean, probably.
The front door flung open. Reggie’s hair was trussed up in a towel, she wore a fuzzy purple robe and matching slippers, and she held a pint of melting Chunky Monkey ice scream in one of her hands. Her narrowed brow softened when she saw it was me. “Lily.” She blinked. The bags under her eyes were dark, as if she hadn’t slept in two days. “Were we supposed to get together today?”
I held out her earring.
Her face reddened, and she teared up.
“I think you better invite us in,” I said.
Reggie nodded. “Come on in.”
Chapter 11
Reggie fumbled the hoop between her fingers for a few silent moments. I gave her time to gather her thoughts and emotions.
Suddenly, as if it were a live coal, she thrust the hoop at me. “You should give this to the police. It’s material evidence from a crime scene.” Her cheeks splotched with color. “Why didn’t you turn this in?”
“First,” I told her. “Who you have relations with is no one’s business. Second, I don’t believe for a second that you had anything to do with Doyle’s death. And third, I acquired this item in a way that Sheriff Avery would frown upon. Finally, if you did have anything to do with his death, I’m sure you had a perfectly good reason, and friends help friends hide incriminating evidence.” I placed the hoop back into her palm and closed her fingers around it.
Reggie’s lips parted, closed, then parted again. Abruptly, she began to laugh and cry at the same time. Relief and mild hysteria, if I had to guess. “I didn’t kill him. I barely remembered his house until I walked in the other night.” She rubbed her face. “One stupid night with a man young enough to be my—”
“Younger brother,” I filled in. She’d beat herself up enough already. “He was a nice-looking man.” I emphasized “man” because, while Donnie was young, he was only a year younger than Parker, and I’d never thought of Parker as a boy. “He was charming and flirting, and you’d had a bad day dealing with your ex-husband. If anyone deserves a little fun, it’s you. So, stop being so hard on yourself.”
“I haven’t even done the autopsy, yet. I couldn’t bring myself to cut into someone I’d had sex with.”
“I can imagine. Maybe you can ask someone else to step in.”
“With what excuse?” She shook her head. “I have to tell the sheriff about my involvement.”
I knew Sheriff Avery well enough to know that nothing good would come of Reggie’s confession. “Look. You are a darn good doctor. People count on you in this town. You go spilling your guts about your one-night stand with Donnie and it will be all over town, and after the last homicidal coroner, I don’t think the office can take any more scandal.”
“It might be too late for that already.” Her elegant features were marred by the worry lines etched across her brow. Smooshie, who’d been a very good girl since we’d arrived, crawled up on the couch next to Reggie and put her head on Reggie’s lap. I could see the tension ease from her shoulders as she stroked the pit bull with her manicured fingers. “I think someone might already know.”
I leaned forward. “What do you mean?”
Reggie sighed. “I got a letter about four days ago. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but now I think it’s pretty clear.”
“What did it say?”
“I know what you did and soon everyone will.”
I raised a brow. “Do you still have this note?”
She shook her head. “No. I thought it was a prank. I couldn’t imagine what anyone might know about me that my ex’s lawyers hadn’t already uncovered. Those jerks tore into my deepest closets and excavated any skeletons I might have had. I didn’t even think about my night with Donnie. I mean, it was just a fun time, that’s all. It didn’t mean anything.” She covered her eyes for a moment with the hand that wasn’t stroking Smooshie’s neck. “Gah. I hate saying it didn’t mean anything, but it didn’t. That poor guy is dead, and our brief interaction was a blip on my radar. Nothing more than an ego boost for a middle-aged woman who needed to be wanted.”
“I can’t stand how your ex-husband has torn you down and made you feel like you’re somehow less than. You are sexy as hell, Reggie Crawford, for a woman of any age. Plenty of men would want you. You’ve just got to open your eyes.”
A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I hope you’re right.”
“Wait a minute.” I sat up straight. “What are you not telling me?”
“Oh,” she said nervously. “I didn’t want to say anything in case nothing came of it.”
I shook my head. “Well, now you have to tell me.”
“Let’s just say that my encounter with Donnie gave me the courage to ask out the man I’m really interested in. As a matter of record, I was on a date with him the night you found the body.”
“And?”
“And it had been going really well up until the phone call from the police department. Hah!”
I remembered how nice she’d looked when she’d arrived on the scene. And her scent, there were parts that didn’t quite fit her perfume but had smelled familiar.
I remembered a certain dog sitter that night had been showered up and perfumed with cologne. “Greer?”
A flash of pink rose in Reggie’s cheeks. “Yes.” She smiled then frowned. “If this gets out about Donnie, I don’t think Greer will give me a second look. What’s he going to think of me when he finds out about all this?”
Greer’s wife had died of breast cancer a little over ten years ago. Parker told me once that he didn’t think his dad would ever move past losing the love of his life. Had Greer been a Shifter, I might have agreed, but humans, like witches, could fall in love more than once, and a surge of happiness for him and Reggie swept over me. “That’s so great. You are both two of the best people I know. And Greer is not some jerk who is going to punish you for having a life before him.”
“But ten days before him? That’s pretty recent history.”
I didn’t believe Greer would think less of Reggie for her one-night stand. “He’s not the judgy kind. How did I not see this happening?” Greer was a mechanic and Reggie a doctor. Talk about opposites attracting.
“I don’t know.” She grew wistful. “He was changing the oil on my car one day, and I’d made a comment about not knowing a spark plug from an exhaust pipe, and Greer said that in a way we were both mechanics. We just fixed differe
nt kinds of vehicles.” She laughed. “Then he wiped his cheek and smudged grease across his face. All kinds of blue-collar fantasies played in my mind. After that, I kept finding reasons to take my car to his shop. I would stay and chat with him while he did whatever needed to be done. It wasn’t until this week though that I got up the nerve to ask him out on a date.”
“So ballsy,” I teased.
“Seriously,” Reggie said. “My knees were knocking, but I’d began to think we’d both be in a nursing home long before he got around to asking me first.”
Knowing Greer, she was probably right. “I don’t think Donnie’s death is an accident. You need to do the autopsy.”
“It’s a conflict of interest, Lily.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no conflict.”
Reggie chuckled, but not as if she were really amused. “It doesn’t work like that. If it comes out that I slept with the victim, my entire medical report will lose its validation. It could cause a mistrial if the police catch the real killer. I can’t do that, not even to protect myself from the humiliation of town gossip and suspicion.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Be a grown-up.” In my heart, I knew Reggie was right. It was a testament to her character. A testament I hoped Greer took into consideration when the truth came out, because I really thought the two of them together were pretty damned perfect.
“You’re right about one thing, though. The autopsy needs to happen soon. I’ll call Dr. Azan, the M.E. in Cape Girardeau, and see if he’ll come down. I did my forensic pathology fellowship with him. I trust him.”
I looked at the display on my new phone. It was five after five. “Shoot. I told Parker I’d meet him by five-thirty.”
“You better get going then.” Reggie forced a smile as she stood up. Smooshie jumped down to the floor and waited expectantly for whatever would happen next. Reggie gave me a quick hug. “Don’t keep that man waiting. He’s one of the good ones.”
“And so is his dad,” I replied. “Greer isn’t going to think any less of you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
I hoped I was right too.
I gave a little sigh as I pulled into Parker’s driveway. All the way over I couldn’t stop thinking about Reggie and the vulnerable position she was in.
Smooshie began to whine when I didn’t immediately turn the truck off. It was a warm spring day. Parker stepped out his front door wearing jeans and a muscle-hugging blue T-shirt. My foot slipped onto the gas pedal, at least that’s the story I’m sticking with, and the engine revved loudly.
Smooshie barked at me as I jerked my foot back. Thank the Goddess I’d put the truck in park, or I’d have crashed right through Parker’s garage door. Quickly, I turned off the engine and got out. Smooshie followed after me.
“Hey, Parker.” My cheeks warmed under his curious gaze. “Sorry about that.”
“What’s wrong with Old Martha?”
I smiled at his use of the truck’s nickname. “Sticky pedal,” I fibbed. “I’ll have your dad look at it sometime.”
“That’s a good idea.” He smiled. “You look nice today.”
“As opposed to other days?” I teased.
Parker stammered, “I didn’t mean…”
“I’m just messing with you.” Smooshie hunched her back and pooped on Parker’s front lawn. A blue sedan slowed down as it passed Parker’s home. Smooshie dropped several turds, undeterred by the audience. The car sped up a few feet past the driveway and turned left at the four-way at the end of the street.
Parker crossed his arms, his biceps bulging. “I guess that wasn’t the Nelsons.”
Smooshie, now several ounces lighter, happily zipped back in forth in a speedy race of joy. I stared at the steaming pile she’d left behind. “I don’t have a doodoo bag on me. Do you?”
“Ah, leave it.” Parker waved his hand in Smoosh’s direction. “I’ll get it later with the mower.”
“She really has no manners.” I didn’t help that I pretty much let her poop wherever she wanted as long as it wasn’t indoors.
From next door at the shelter, Addy and CeCe burst through the front door, Addy holding the pup under his right arm and carrying something floppy with his left hand. “Parker!” he shouted when he saw us. “Lily!”
Both kids looked out of breath and a little freaked out. Parker went into managing mode. “What’s wrong? Did two dogs get in a fight? Is Keith okay? Are you okay? Was anyone attacked?”
Addy pulled up short and blinked. “No. No, the dogs are fine. Everyone is fine.”
I wrinkled my brow as my annoyance went full tilt. “Then why the heck are you running out of the shelter like the hounds of hell on your trail? You scared the crap out of us.”
Smooshie emphasized my claim by turning in two circles and pooping again near the last spot.
Addy seemed genuinely shaken, but CeCe looked almost as annoyed as me. She grabbed the dangling thing from Addy’s hand and thrust it at me. “This is Tino’s collar.”
“Okay.” The clasp on the small collar looked strange. Not something I’d seen before, but still, it was a collar. “Is it broken? We have some extras in the laundry room.”
“It’s not broken,” CeCe said. “It’s got a USB drive built into it.”
“Really? That’s a thing?” Parker asked.
“Yes, it is.” CeCe’s brow furrowed. “And the reason we’re freaked out is because Addy decided it was a good idea to plug it in and take a look.”
“And what was it?”
The teenager blushed. “You’re just going to have to watch it yourself.”
“Watch?” I turned to Parker. I could see he was thinking the same thing I was as he stripped the drive from CeCe grasp. “Thanks. We’ll take a look.”
“Watch” indicated video, and any video CeCe and Addy didn’t want to talk about was probably a video I didn’t want to see.
“Oh, no.” My eyes widened.
“Yes,” CeCe said. “There isn’t enough eye bleach in all the world to erase what I saw. It was totally gross.”
“How much did you watch?”
“Not much,” Addy chimed in. “As soon as we knew what was happening, we turned it off.”
My fear for Reggie heightened. “Did you…recognize anyone?”
“No,” both teenagers said.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “You did the right thing, telling us about this.”
Addy grinned as Tino whined and licked up the side of his face. “We better get this one to the backyard.”
After the kids left, Parker turned to me. “We should turn this into the sheriff’s department. Or at least to Nadine.”
“You’re right,” I said. “But it’s not that simple.”
“Why? You’re not on it, are you?” His crooked smile told me he wasn’t serious.
“Now you’re just being dumb.” I shook my head. “Not me, but maybe a friend. I can’t give that to the police until I know she’s not on it.” Even if I had to delete the evidence myself. That was the real difference between Shifters and humans. A Shifter’s idea of justice was more primal and their loyalty fiercer. Human laws played in the shades of gray. Shifters saw things a lot more clearly.
Reggie hadn’t killed Donnie.
And I wouldn’t let her get nailed for it.
Chapter 12
Convincing Parker to keep his dinner date with his dad had proven impossible. He canceled with Greer and then stood behind me in the shelter office as I opened the flash drive on the desktop computer. It had thirty-three .avi video files that were assigned numerical values only, which made it necessary to open each one. If I were honest with myself, I most likely would have opened each one out of morbid curiosity. Thirty-three files meant thirty-three suspects.
I watched several seconds of the first video as Donnie and a woman I didn’t recognize tumbled into the bedroom. The angle was high and coming from the left. What was on the wall that c
ould have hidden a camera?
The clock? Maybe. I blanched. “Do you think the camera is still in the room? I didn’t see anything when I was there today.” But maybe it saw me. I don’t know how in the world I would explain that one to the sheriff.
“Today?” Parker asked.
“Uhm…” I pursed my lips. Looks like I wasn’t keeping my little excursion to Doyle’s house a secret. Or maybe Parker had the same effect on me that I had on other people—I didn’t want to lie to him.
“I thought you were done with investigating. No more crime scenes for you.”
“Well…” I shrugged.
Parker chuckled. “I never for one moment thought you’d actually stay out of this. It’s not in your nature to stand on the sidelines.”
I paused the video on the woman’s face. “Do you recognize her?”
Parker shook his head. “No.”
I clicked on the next file. Again, Donnie entered his bedroom with a woman. This one was shorter and curvier than the first woman. “What about her?”
Parker narrowed his gaze on the screen. “I think that’s Della Thomas. Her folks used to run the feed store in town.”
“Is she married?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I haven’t seen her in a couple of years. She hasn’t changed much though.”
I moved on to the next file. The scene was different. It was an office of some kind, and the camera was mobile. Donnie must have been holding it as he moved around the room.
“What are we looking at?” Parker asked.
“I’m not sure yet. There isn’t anything to identify who the office belongs to.”
“Could it be Doyle’s home office?”
