Maddie Cochere - Two Sisters and a Journalist 01 - Murder Under Construction (12 page)

No one was around.

I poked the paper with my foot. There was nothing under it, and nothing slithered out. I reached down and flipped it open. It was the business section of the local newspaper. The first article was about a florist. I could barely make out the article in the blackened area below the fold, but it appeared to be an about a potato chip manufacturer. I turned pages and scanned headlines, but there was nothing about Ruby Rosewell or Paula Radford.

A city trash can was against the fence not five feet from me. I picked up the newspaper to throw it away when the date caught my attention. The first of July. The day Ruby was murdered. The creepy shiver revisited my body. There was no way this paper had been on the sidewalk since last Saturday, and no matter how irrelevant the articles, I knew as sure as I knew anything this paper was here for me to find. I folded it and shoved it inside my purse.

I stepped back inside the gate and saw Pepper rushing the kids away from the mound. I chuckled. She had her hands full with those two.

By the time I worked my way back to the front of the cemetery, Pepper and the kids were waiting for me on the sidewalk by the car.

“Did you get fined?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if there are cameras and a ticket shows up in the mail.”

Keith was still excited. “That was so much fun. It’s just a hill. I don’t know why we’re not allowed to roll down it.”

Pepper sighed. “It’s a burial mound. There are Adena Indians buried there. It’s irreverent to climb or roll on it.”

He didn’t agree. “There are stairs to climb, and we can walk on the top. And there are benches up there to sit on. Why can you do that but not climb on the other sides or roll down? That’s not fair.”

Pepper didn’t have a good explanation. “It’s just the way it is, and if we get a ticket for fifty dollars, it’s coming out of your piggy bank.”

“Did you have a vision, Aunt Jo?” Kelly asked. “Did you get another clue from Ruby?”

I shook my head. “No vision. No clues. Not yet anyway. Did you guys find anything?”

“I found Mozart,” Keith said. “He was decomposing.”

Kelly punched him and said, “You did not.”

He punched her back. “Did too.”

“That’s enough, you two,” Pepper said looking at her watch. “It’s only two o’clock. Let’s go to the Ohio River Museum. Since we missed the ride on the sternwheeler, we can at least tour one.”

I decided not to say anything about the newspaper until I had time to read it more carefully. We piled into the car and headed for the museum.

~ ~ ~

“I’d like to place an order for a dozen ribs and a side of coleslaw.”

I regretted placing the order the second I hung up the phone, but I didn’t have the willpower to call back and cancel it. My mouth was already watering, and my taste buds would never forgive me if the ribs didn’t show up in twenty minutes.

After two days of eating better and jiggling every globule of fat in my body on shaking machines while doing sumo squats, I did feel lighter and more energetic. It was a good start, but I couldn’t go cold turkey off everything I loved. And I loved Smitty’s ribs. The salad from lunch didn’t stay with me for very long, so tonight it was either ribs or an entire pizza. I considered the ribs the lesser of the two evils.

I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and the Marietta newspaper from my purse. I wanted to look it over more carefully while I waited for the food.

It was a thin section of newspaper with only eight pages. The first page definitely held no clues. Pages two and three had short business articles, four through six were the classifieds, and pages seven and eight were car dealership ads. I hoped I wouldn’t have to read every classified listing before finding a clue. I turned back to the two pages of articles.

An accounting firm announced it had hired IT specialist, Mike Muller. Goodwill was scheduled to hold a job fair on Wednesday. Businessman Terry L. Cord was planning a run for mayor. A body shop was converting vehicles to run on natural gas. There were also tips for making repairs around the house before winter, shopping for lower insurance rates, and information for improving woodland habitats for wildlife if you lived on a wooded lot. That was it. There was nothing pertaining to Ruby or Paula in any of the articles.

My head hurt just thinking about reading the classifieds, and I needed another beer. The comfy chair wasn’t stocked, so I headed for the kitchen.

It was early evening, but it was darker than usual. Black clouds had moved in, and a storm was brewing. The wind whipped the dogwood trees in the back yard. As a precaution, I grabbed a lighter and a couple of emergency candles along with the beer.

The doorbell rang. My mouth watered and my jaw hinges ached with anticipation of the ribs and coleslaw.

I paid the man for the food, and gave him the exorbitant delivery fee, just as the first large drops of rain fell. The driver dashed to his car. I slammed my door and spread the goods out on the coffee table.

With the beer opened and the candles lit, I chomped on the first rib. The meat was tender and fell off the bones. The sauce was incredible. How was I going to lose weight if I couldn’t give up Smitty’s ribs?

I had two ribs down in under a minute. I should enter an eating contest. Forget losing weight, I could become a professional competitive eater. I had my mouth stuffed with the third rib when the red phone rang. I pitched the bone into the box and grabbed a napkin to wipe my fingers. My mouth was still full when I picked up the handset. “Two sitters and a jellist.”

“What the hell is that?” Jackie asked with a laugh. “Is that the new name for your detective agency?”

I managed to swallow most of the meat and said, “You caught me with my mouth full. Ribs from Smitty’s. And no swearing. We’re still not swearing.”

“Hell isn’t swearing. It’s a proper noun. But lucky you with the ribs. Matt wanted meatloaf for supper, so we went to the diner.”

I got right down to business and asked, “Did you find out anything today? We came up dry in Marietta.”

“I checked into Telcor. The company is based in Germany, and they only have the one US office in Patterson. They deal in commercial property investments. They hold the property behind your house. The contractor backed out of the deal. That’s why construction stopped.”

“What about Carol Bristol-Meyers?” I asked.

“I have an address for her and her new husband. They bought a house on Treehorn Lake. I think we should go over there tomorrow and talk to her. Maybe she can tell us more about Telcor, and we can find out how she knew Paula.”

Treehorn Lake was in Patterson. It wouldn’t take long to get there. “I have a date with Stewie at six. I’ll have to be back in time.”

“He seems like a nice guy, Jo, and I think he’s funny. Why do you give him such a hard time?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer. Stewie was nice, but there was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He had a coldness that often exhibited itself in the office, and then there was the rude manner at the restaurant the other day. His charm seemed more an act than genuine, and I sometimes thought he might be an axe murderer with bodies piling up in his basement.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “There’s no chemistry, and the thought of kissing him kind of disgusts me. This is going to be a big mistake.”

She chuckled. “Go and keep an open mind. Give him a chance, and try to have a good time. Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

Thunder rumbled overhead. It was followed by a loud crack from a nearby lightning strike. A second later, the only light in the room was from the candles I had lit earlier. Jackie was gone, and I didn’t know if my landline died or if she lost her cell signal.

Talking with her had allowed the first few ribs to take the edge off my hunger, and I felt full. I had no desire to eat any more, and I was glad I hadn’t stuffed myself to the point of misery.

I closed the box of ribs, grabbed the untouched coleslaw, and took both into the darkened kitchen. There was just a hint of light coming in from the living room. I stood still for a moment to be sure I had my bearings. Another lightning strike lit the room. My heart jumped, and I froze. Someone was looking in through the window over the sink.

I couldn’t cry out. I couldn’t move. Terror had me rooted to the floor. Another lightning flash followed, but this time, no one was there. I tossed the food onto the counter and raced to the back door to be sure it was locked. I checked the door to the garage and the front door. All were locked. I fumbled for my cell phone in my purse. It was dead. I had no signal.

The red phone! I picked up the handset and heard a dial tone. I tried to dial 911 but had my finger in the eight the first time and the zero the second time. I finally managed to dial 911.

“What is your emergency?” the voice on the other end asked.

“A prowler,” I said breathlessly. “I have a prowler outside my house.”

I was scared. This was the first time I had ever been scared in my own home. I didn’t mind living by myself, and even with the dreams of Ruby, and the creepy feelings at times, I was never truly scared. But I was now. Who was outside in such a terrible storm, and why were they looking in my window?

I couldn’t believe a full twenty minutes elapsed before an officer showed up at the door. As luck would have it, it was Officer Twit.

“What happened, Jo?” he asked.

“Obviously, the power’s out,” I said. “When I walked into the kitchen and lightning flashed, I saw a face at the window.”

“Did you get a good look? Can you describe the guy?”

“No. I don’t know if it was a man or a woman. The window was wet, and it was raining hard, but I could clearly make out facial features of eyes, nose, and a mouth. I’m positive someone was there.”

He nodded his head. “Lock your door. I’ll take a look around.”

I did as he instructed and waited. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but I didn’t think so. I saw a face, and in retrospect, I knew whoever it was saw me, too. They were looking directly at me.

I sat on my sofa and shook. It would be a long time before my nerves were calmed down. I jumped when Officer Twit knocked on the door again.

“I looked all over your property and didn’t see anyone. The rain’s too heavy to show any footprints, so all I can tell you is to keep your doors and windows locked, and call us back if you see anything else. I’ll come by a few times during the night and patrol the area.”

I appreciated his concern, and I felt somewhat guilty for thinking of him as a twit. After he left, I took his suggestion to check all of the doors and windows. The candle illuminated my way as I climbed the stairs. The likelihood of someone getting in through an upstairs window was zero, but I wanted to be sure they were all locked.

The windows in the two spare bedrooms were secure. My bedroom window was locked, too. I set the candle down on the dresser and looked out onto the western edge of the construction site. My heart began to race again. There was a light. A moving light. Probably a flashlight, and it was definitely moving toward the east where I had found Ruby. I dashed over to the murder room to look out, but stopped in my tracks.

The window was open.

“Kelly, go get your Aunt Jo a blanket out of the hall closet.”

“I’m afraid to go upstairs by myself,” she whined.

Pepper was frustrated and raised her voice. “Keith, go with your sister, and hurry up.”

The kids ran off with the flashlight lighting their way.

She handed a towel to me. “Is there someone in your house right now?” she asked.

My hair and clothes were soaked, and I was shaking as if I was on one of the machines at Figure Perfect. “I don’t know. When I saw the open window in the murder room, I ran out. I left a lit candle upstairs and one in the living room, but I’m not going back over there. The house can burn down.”

Pepper tried her cell phone again. There was still no signal. “Does your red phone work?”

“Yes, but I’m not kidding, Pepper. I’m not going back over there.”

“I wish Buck was here,” she muttered under her breath.

Keith handed the blanket to me. I wrapped myself in it, but the shaking continued.

“What’s a murder room?” he asked. His eyes were wide. “Was someone murdered in your house?”

Pepper was trying to be the calm one, but anxiety was apparent in her voice. “No one was murdered in Aunt Jo’s house. It’s a room where she writes things down when she tries to figure stuff out.”

Kelly squished herself up against Keith on the sofa. It was obvious she was frightened, too. “What if our windows are open upstairs?” she asked. “What if someone is in our house and is going to murder us?”

Pepper clenched her fists by her side. “No one is in the house. No one is going to murder us. Knock it off.”

I felt sorry for the kids. I knew what it was like to be young and afraid.

A loud bang sounded at the front door, and we all jumped at the same time. Kelly stifled a scream. Pepper slowly moved toward the door and yelled, “Who is it?”

“Officer Wheeler.”

She opened the door, and I heard Officer Twit ask, “Have you seen Jo?”

She stood back and pointed in my direction.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “I just left here twenty minutes ago. I decided to double back before heading downtown, and I found your front door wide open with no one inside.”

Through semi-chattering teeth, I told him, “I did what you said. I checked all the windows and doors to be sure they were locked. When I checked the room above the garage, the window was open. I never open my windows, so I was afraid someone was in the house. I ran out and came over here.”

He called for backup, and fifteen minutes later, he and two more officers were searching every nook and cranny of my house for an intruder.

What if someone had been in my house all evening, hiding in the basement or in an upstairs closet? It all seemed much more Hitchcockian and frightening by candlelight.

Pepper handed another flashlight to the kids. “Go get ready for bed. You can sleep in my room tonight. Jo, you can stay here with us.”

“Is there enough room in your bed for all four of us?” I asked.

Kelly giggled at the idea, but Keith said enthusiastically, “Sure there is.”

I smiled and said, “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“You can sleep in my bed, Aunt Jo,” Kelly offered.

“No. If Pepper doesn’t mind, I’d rather sleep down here.”

It was nearly an hour before Officer Wheeler came back. “We didn’t find anyone in your house, and there’s no sign anyone was in there. You must have left the window open.”

I shook my head vehemently. “No. I told you, I never open my windows.” The minute I said it, I remembered opening that very window and sticking my head out to look at the construction site to see where Ruby had lain. But that was the only time I had ever opened it, and I remember closing it right away. “It might not have been locked,” I said, “but it was definitely closed.”

“We locked the window, so everything’s ok over there now.” He didn’t make a move to leave. Instead, he said, “Jo, can I talk with you privately for a minute?”

“I’ll go check on the kids,” Pepper said heading for the stairs.

Officer Wheeler sat down opposite me. “You’re going to have to come down to the station.”

“Why? Do I have to fill out a report?”

“No, but I have to tell Sergeant Rorski what I found inside your house.”

What was he talking about? I put my palms up and shook my head. I didn’t have a clue.

“The room above the garage. It looks pretty creepy in there, Jo.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “You had me scared there for a minute. That’s my murder room. It’s what I know about Ruby Rosewell’s murder. I’m trying to put the pieces together and find out why she was murdered, since you guys aren’t doing it.”

He reviewed his notes in a small notebook and said, “But you have information no one else has. Who’s Charlotte? Who’s Paula Radford? Who’s Margie, and how is she going to help you? And what is this about dream information?”

I was too tired to discuss it. “It’s complicated,” I said. “I’ll come down on Monday and talk to Sergeant Rorski. Tell him I’ll be in then.”

He stood to leave.

“Officer Wheeler,” I said stopping him. “I’m staying here with Pepper tonight. There’s a key in a fake rock to the right of the front door. Would you mind locking my door, so I don’t have to go back over there? I’m still kind of freaked out.”

He smiled and said, “Sure.” He paused and studied me more closely than was comfortable. “You don’t remember me, do you?” he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head no.

“I’m Glenn. Glenn Wheeler. You used to babysit me.”

This was Glenn Wheeler? Little booger eater, Glenny Wheeler? I almost burst out laughing.

His face lit up. “You were sixteen, and I thought you were the prettiest girl ever. I hated that I was eleven years old and my mom made me have a babysitter, but I was never mad when you showed up. You were always nice to me and played video games with me. Do you remember taking me down to the ice cream stand even though Mom said no sweets?”

It was all coming back to me now. He was fun to babysit, but I remembered him as a scrawny, towheaded kid. He had grown into a well-built, good-looking man with darker blonde, almost brown, hair. And in all fairness to him, I never actually saw him eat a booger, I only assumed he did by the way he positioned himself when he tried to sneak to pick his nose. All things considered, I decided this was a memory I would keep to myself.

“Little Glenny,” I said. “We did have fun, didn’t we? Who knew you would grow up to be a policeman? I had no idea it was you.”

His smile was broad as he said, “I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later, he handed the house key to me. “If someone’s trying to get into your house, you don’t need a key outside.”

I nodded and reached out to take the key. Our fingers touched for a moment, and there was a slight flutter in my stomach. His smile was charming. A natural charming - not forced. I was flustered but thanked him for his help and closed the door.

Little Glenny, huh? Officer Twit might not be such a twit after all.

~ ~ ~

Tea with Paula was lovely. The Earl Grey was delicious, and the scones were divine. We chatted about the weather, fashions, and men. Terrence treated her like a queen, and she was going to name the baby after him. They were in love and planning to be married. I was all atwitter about being reunited with Little Glenny. We, too, were in love and planned to marry, but “I’m not pregnant, you whore.”

Why did I say that? Why would I call Paula a whore? I was instantly afraid and knew something terrible was going to happen. Her eyes flashed with anger as she stood from her dainty, embroidered chair. It was as though she were ten feet tall. A large knife materialized in her hand, and I knew she was going to kill me. I tried to stand, but she shoved me to the ground. As the knife came down, I instinctively rolled. Rather than plunging into my chest, the knife blade disappeared into the fat chunk that was my love handle. Paula leaned down and put her nose nearly to mine before saying, “Pull it out quick and use it.”

My eyes flew open. I was discombobulated and my heart was palpitating. Where was I?

It only took a moment to realize I was at Pepper’s house and why. The television was on in the kitchen, so I knew the power had been restored. A snicker caught my attention, and I saw Keith watching me from a chair. He had his hand over his mouth as he struggled not to laugh.

“What? What’s so funny?” I asked groggily.

He let out a boisterous laugh. “You were dreaming.” He rolled his eyes and swooned. “You were all dreamy and saying Glenny, Glenny, Glenny, and then you were mean and saying whore, whore, whore.” He doubled over with laughter and rolled onto the floor.

Pepper came into the room. “Go on. Get out of here and leave your Aunt Jo alone.” She handed a cup of coffee to me. “Are you all right?”

I was miserable, but I said, “I’m ok. Just another bad dream about Ruby. I insulted her, and she stabbed me with a knife. I am sooo done with these dreams. We need to figure this out soon, so she can move on and out of my head.”

“Jackie called looking for you. She said she’ll pick you up at your house at ten. It’s eight thirty now.”

“Come with us,” I said. “You know you want to.”

“I can’t. I have to do the grocery shopping, and I have a ton of laundry piled up. Besides, I don’t think Mama can watch the kids. She’ll be at a bingo tournament today.”

“What’s Hank doing? Can they go over to his place?”

“I talked to him on Thursday. He said he had a birthday party scheduled for this weekend.”

“That’s perfect,” I said. “He can take the kids with him. They know how to help him with his equipment, and they’ll get cake.”

Our brother owned a photography studio. He specialized in weddings, but he booked a fair number of kid’s birthday parties, too. When he didn’t have a photography gig, he worked nights as a bouncer at Parker’s Tavern, a reputable bar in a shopping plaza on Main Street. Pepper’s kids never tagged along when he worked at the tavern, but they loved helping Uncle Hank when he had weddings or parties to photograph.

“I’ll call him,” Pepper said. “If he can take the kids, I’ll go with you.”

~ ~ ~

Jackie was an aggressive driver. At the moment, she had her hand out the window, middle finger extended, and was waving it wildly at the trucker in front of her who had just cut her off.

“Who?” she asked. “Glenn Wheeler? Of course I know him. He’s the new hottie on the police force. He was working over in Patterson, but his grandfather died recently and left his house to him, so he moved back into town. Why?”

“No reason,” I said. “He answered my prowler call last night, and I was surprised to find out it was him. He was one of the last kids I ever babysat.

Jackie made eye contact with me in the rear-view mirror and said, “For what it’s worth, he’s single. You interested?”

I wasn’t a blusher, but I felt a hot flush rush into my face. “No. Oh, heavens no. He’s five or six years younger than I am. I’m not a cougar.”

Pepper piped up, “Don’t let her fool you. Officer Wheeler was making eyes at her, and she was looking him over, too. And she was saying his name in her sleep.”

Jackie was intrigued. “You were dreaming about him? I don’t know, Jo. Sounds like there’s something there.”

I ignored their teasing and said, “I wasn’t dreaming about him. I was dreaming about Ruby, and she stabbed me. What do you think that means?”

Jackie’s smile turned to a frown. “She stabbed you?”

“It was disturbing,” I said. “There’s usually something I can take away from a dream about her, but there was nothing in this one. She stabbed me and told me to pull the knife out and use it.”

“That’s creepy,” Jackie said.

“That wasn’t the whole dream,” Pepper said. “You said you insulted her, and Keith said you were saying whore over and over again.”

Jackie snorted in her attempt to stifle a laugh.

“Ruby and I were having a fancy schmancy tea party with scones. We were all snobby like with our noses in the air and our pinkie fingers sticking out, and we were chatting about girl stuff. She said she was going to marry Terrence and name the baby …” My voice trailed off. I grabbed my purse.

“Name the baby what?” Jackie asked.

I yanked the Marietta paper out of my purse. “Terrence is the formal name for Terry, right?” I opened the paper and rapidly scanned for the article about the mayor.

“What are you doing? What is that?” Pepper asked.

“I found this paper at the cemetery in Marietta. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t see any obvious clues in it. I thought it might end up being nothing more than trash, but there’s an article about a Terry in here. Listen.” I read aloud from the paper. “Businessman Terry L. Cord has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for mayor. Cord said he is running because he wants to improve the community by bringing people closer together, promoting businesses, and highlighting the city’s historic assets. Cord is married with two adult children. His investment company has a long history with bankers, developers, and contractors in the city.”