Authors: Kathi Daley
“You have a lot of stuff. I figured you’d just bring soup or a casserole from Rosie’s.”
“I made shredded beef for our single-parent get-together yesterday and had a ton left, so I decided I’d heat it up, grate some cheese, heat some beans, and make burritos.”
M
y mouth started to water. “Did you make guacamole?”
“Of course
. I shredded some lettuce and diced some tomatoes and onion as well.”
“It looks like you brought my favorite tortilla strips,” Levi
said about the chips poking out of one of the bags he was carrying as he walked into the cabin. “I’m hoping that means you brought salsa?”
“
Some of Mom’s homemade,” Ellie assured him.
“I’ve got the tequila and limes for margaritas,” Levi added.
I opened my freezer and took out a bag of ice. I missed Zak, but it was good to have the old gang together again.
“So how did Barbie take it when you told her you were hanging with us tonight?” Ellie asked.
“She wasn’t happy,” Levi admitted. “She doesn’t really understand why I’d want to be friends with women I don’t sleep with. She says it’s unnatural to have close friends of the opposite sex.”
“That’s crazy,” Ellie declared
.
“Yeah. I think my relationship with the fabulous B may be coming to its natural
conclusion. I really enjoyed being with her at first, but she seems to be obsessed with moving things to a more-committed level, and I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
Ellie smiled.
“I wouldn’t wait too long if you’re planning to end it. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and everyone knows that ending a relationship within a week of the dance is considered to be a relationship faux pas,” I pointed out.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I guess I should really give it some thought.
If I do break up with her, I’ll need a date for the dance. You wanna be my backup?” Levi asked Ellie.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” Levi actually looked surprised. “We’ve gone together before.”
“You
seriously think I’d agree to go to the dance with you knowing that I’m only the backup in case things don’t work out with Barbie?”
“Why not? That’s what buds do. They have each other’s back.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you can be so clueless. Besides, I’m going to the dance with Rob.”
“It seems like you and Rob have been hanging out a lot lately,”
he said.
“I like Rob,” Ellie
responded. “He’s fun, and our relationship is easy and uncomplicated.”
“Sounds like a real yawner.”
“My relationship with Rob is not a yawner,” Ellie defended.
“I just call them like I see them.” Levi shrugged.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Levi sounded more like a jealous boyfriend than an impartial friend. Perhaps, I decided, there was more to the Levi-and-Ellie thing than I’d originally thought.
“
Barbie still pressuring you to move in with her?” I decided to change the subject before Ellie clobbered Levi with the frying pan in her hand.
“
She’s not backing off from the idea at all, in spite of the fact that I told her I really wasn’t interested in doing something like that at this point. How about you? Do you and Zak have any plans to cohabitate?”
“Zak and I are taking things slow. I love being with him
, but moving in is a huge step. I think we need to get used to being a couple and see how it goes.”
“Right!” Levi agreed. “That’s what I’ve been telling Barbie
, but she thinks that three months of dating is more than enough time to know if things are going to work out or not.”
“All this commitment talk is making my skin itch,” I commented. “Let’s open the tequila.”
The thing about me is that once I’m in a committed relationship, I’m
all
in, and I don’t like anyone or anything messing with the security that can be found in having things calm and steady. On the other hand, letting someone new in—I mean, really letting them in, to the point where they share my everyday life and have a piece of my heart—is something I’ve never been good at. Unless, of course, the
someone
in question has fur and four legs, and then I’m committed in a minute. I like Zak. I probably even love him. But there are things about him that give me pause, such as his tendency toward secrecy and his natural ability to cause any woman he comes into contact with to fall instantly in lust with him. Ellie has pointed out many times that it’s natural for women to throw themselves at Zak; not only is he a total babe, but he’s also ridiculously rich. To be honest, I sort of wish he wasn’t.
The next morning I was feeling the effects of the margaritas, the spicy food, and the late night, but I still managed to get up when the alarm went off so that I could meet Jeremy at the Zoo as planned. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of early morning meetings, but the county official who was assigned to inspect the improvements we’d made to the property insisted that the only time he was available to meet this week was first thing Monday morning. If we hadn’t taken the appointment, which turned out to be a last-minute cancelation, we would have had to wait another four weeks for the reinspection of the few items he’d highlighted in his initial report. To be honest, jumping through all the hoops the county required to update the facility Zak had bought from them had turned out to be a nightmare I hadn’t really anticipated. The end result was fabulous, but I was more than a little happy to be nearing the end of the road.
“You look terrible,” Jeremy greeted
me as he pulled into the parking lot at the same time I did. “Too much fun?”
“
Something like that,” I groaned as I began to regret scarfing down the second burrito, followed by a double serving of brownies and ice cream.
“Been there
.” Jeremy, a twenty-one-year-old, stick-thin heavy metal drummer with a nose ring and a neck tattoo, knew a thing or two about
too much fun.
“I think I have some antacids in my desk.”
“Thanks
.” I waited while Charlie jumped down from the truck before retrieving the bags I’d stashed on the floor of the cab.
“You might want to splash a little water on your face before the inspector gets here
,” Jeremy suggested as I locked the door to the truck.
“That bad?”
“Oh, yeah.”
I slung my purse over my shoulder and turned toward the building.
“Isn’t that Trent’s truck?” I asked as I noticed the pickup belonging to one of the contractors working on our remodel parked near the back door. It was covered in snow, so it appeared to have been parked there all night.
“Yeah
. I wonder why he left it.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t start
, so he got a ride,” I said hopefully. I suddenly began to get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that had nothing to do with salsa and tequila.
“
He did mention that he’d been having problems with it,” Jeremy agreed.
The tension in my body lessened as I remembered that Trent
had
said something about the finicky ignition system. I suppose it could be all the murder and mayhem our little town has experienced in the past few months, but it seems that everywhere I looked, I saw murder and mayhem. “I’m kind of surprised he didn’t call one of us to let us know he was leaving it.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe he planned to get here before we did. I hope he got everything working okay.”
“He said he would,” I responded. During his initial visit, the county inspector had noted that the electrical panel needed to be updated, and we’d been waiting for the correct supplies for over two weeks. They’d finally arrived yesterday so, knowing that Kevin was out of town on a ski trip and the inspector was returning today, Trent had offered to come by after he completed a plumbing job he was working on over the weekend.
“Guess we should check to make certain before the inspector gets here,” Jeremy suggested.
“It wouldn’t look too good if he made the trip up the mountain before the repairs were completed.”
I
placed the bags I was carrying on my desk, then stashed my purse in the cabinet where I kept my personal possessions. I checked to see if the light on the answering machine was flashing before Charlie and I followed Jeremy down the hall.
“
It seems the new equipment has been installed as promised, but it looks like Trent left his tools and supplies behind,” Jeremy observed.
“
Maybe he figured he’d get his stuff when he came back for the truck.”
Jeremy
flipped a few switches on the new panel. “The lights are working.”
“How about the cameras in the wild
-animal cages?”
Jeremy flipped a few more switches
and then walked farther down the hall to check things out. He stopped in front of the newly built bear enclosure. I walked up behind him, then stopped dead in my tracks.
“Is that what I think it is?”
I asked.
“Afraid so.”
Two hours later
, I sat with Jeremy in the waiting room of the sheriff’s office, wondering what sort of evil curse had been cast that would cause me to be the one to find three dead bodies in three months. Especially since I happened to live in a town that, prior to this unusual set of circumstances, hadn’t seen a murder in the past three decades. Ashton Falls is a charming, quiet, and peaceful town. Most folks didn’t even lock their doors, and no one worried about walking around after dark or giving rides to strangers.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me,” I groaned.
“To you? What about Trent?” Jeremy pointed out.
“
You have a point.” Perhaps it was just a
bit
insensitive of me to be worrying more about the probable delay to our opening than the murder of a seemingly nice guy who had just been going about his business when someone broke in and ended his life. “I wonder who shot him?”
“
I have no idea. The guy was fairly new to town and seemed to keep to himself. I can’t imagine he’s made any enemies in the short time he’s been living in Ashton Falls. It looked like someone came in while he was working on the panel. If I had to guess, I’d say poor Trent was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Jeremy speculated.
“Yeah, but why would someone break into the Zoo? We aren’t even open yet
, and we certainly don’t have anything of real value on the premises.”
“That I don’t know,” Jeremy admitted. “
Did you get hold of Zak?”
“Yeah
. He’s going to wrap things up and come home early, maybe even by tomorrow night. I think he’s afraid I’m going to jump into the murder investigation and get myself arrested.”
“Are you?” Jeremy asked. “Going to jump into the investigation?”
“Zak wants me to let Sheriff Salinger handle it.”
“
And are you going to?”
“Probably not.”
“Zoe, the sheriff will see you now,” the new receptionist informed me. She’d only lived in Ashton Falls for a few months, but we’d already come into contact with each other more often than I’d care to confess. “Sheriff Salinger asked that you leave Charlie with me until after your interview. Mr. Fisher, Sheriff Salinger would like you to speak to one of the deputies, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, whatever gets me out of here the quickest,” Jeremy answered.
“Zoe, you know where Salinger’s office is.” I couldn’t help but feel that there was a bit of attitude behind that seemingly innocent statement. Could I help it if dead people kept finding me?
I
hated to leave Charlie, but he seemed content to wait with the receptionist, so I showed myself down the hall and knocked on Sheriff Salinger’s door. I opened it and entered when instructed to do so.
“We’ve really go
t to stop meeting this way,” I teased as I sat down on the hard plastic chair on the other side of his desk. “What will people think?”
“Good question,” Salinger agreed. “What will people think?
Would you care to tell me where you were between five-thirty and seven-thirty last night?”
“Right to the point. I like that in a man.”
Salinger apparently didn’t appreciate my attempt at humor; he simply stared at me with steely eyes and waited for an answer.
“I was at home. At the boathouse
, with Levi and Ellie. We had dinner, and they must have left around midnight.”
“Would that be Levi Denton and Ellie Davis?”
I wanted to say
duh
but settled for
yes
. For those of you who may not be aware of my relationship with Sheriff Salinger, suffice it to say that it’s a long and rather unpleasant one at best. You see, I have a tendency to butt into matters that are probably none of my business and, as a result, have at times gotten in the way of one official investigation or another. And while I’ll admit that my meddling may have been of little to no help to the good man and his band of misfit deputies, it would seem that after I’ve identified not one but two killers in the past few months, the guy would give me a break and let bygones be bygones.
“Mr. Everett had a key to the Zoo on his person
, which I assume is how he accessed the property. Can you tell me what he was doing there after hours?”
“Our electrical panel needed updating
, and Trent had just gotten in some parts we’d been waiting for. He had a job yesterday, but his employer assured me he’d stop by afterward. He had a key, as do several of the contractors we’ve been working with.”
“Do you know anyone else who might have come by last evening?” Salinger asked. “Another contractor
, or an employee, perhaps?”
“Jeremy and I are the only employees and we weren’t there
. Zak is out of town, and the remodel is pretty much complete. No one other than Trent had any reason to be there.”
“Did you
notice anything missing?”
“You think Trent
was the victim of a robbery gone bad?” I realized.
“It’s a theory.”
“I didn’t notice anything missing, but to be honest, I didn’t really look around. The only thing currently in the building that anyone might want to steal would be the veterinary supplies and Scott,” I said, referring to the town vet, “keeps the medications and all his valuable equipment locked up in a metal cabinet in the exam room. I suppose we should check on it, though.”
“I’ll have one of my deputies meet the vet at the pro
perty. Can you think of any other reason someone might have broken in?”
“No
, not a one.”
“Okay, then can you think of anyone who might have
a vendetta against you?”
“Other than you?”
This time Salinger actually smiled. “Why do you ask? I wasn’t even there.”
“True
, but the killer might have noticed the lights on and assumed you or perhaps your assistant were in the facility.”
“I can’t think of anyone I’ve annoyed enough to want to kill me,” I answered.
“Prior to this morning, when were you last at the facility?”
“Saturday morning.
That’s when Jeremy, Levi, Ellie, and I finished the painting.”
“And when was the last time you spoke to Mr. Everett?”
“Almost a week ago. Kevin Michaels is the actual contractor on the job. He called me yesterday morning and told me that he’d spoken to Trent, and the supplies for our panel had come in. He was out of town for the day, so he asked Trent to come by to install them. Kevin informed me that Trent had already committed to a plumbing job but would stop by when he was done with it.”
“And you didn’t arrange to meet him at the site?”
“No. Trent had a key, and he’s been working with us for a couple of months, so I was comfortable with him being there on his own.”
“Who else knew he’d be there last evening?”
“Just me and Jeremy.”
Salinger made some notes.
“You mentioned that you’d been working with the victim for a couple of months. Had he mentioned anyone he might be having a problem with? Ex-girlfriend? Angry customer?”
“No, no one. Trent is
. . . I mean
was
a really nice guy. I can’t imagine why anyone would want him dead.”
Salinger made a few more notes and then sat back and looked at me.
“Can you think of anything else? Maybe you want to share some of your Zoe insight?”
“Honestly
, I wish I had some insight right now, but I’m afraid I really don’t at the moment.”
“Okay, then you can go for now. We’ll call you if we have additional questions. The property is being cordoned off and the locks will be changed effective immediately. You
’ll be given keys when we’ve completed our investigation.”
After leaving the sheriff’s office, I drove past the Zoo. The entrance was taped and several official-looking vehicles were parked in the parking lot. I realized that this meant we wouldn’t be opening on Thursday as planned, but I supposed there wasn’t anything I could do there, so Charlie and I returned to the boathouse, where Levi and Ellie were waiting for me. If there’s one thing you can say for my two best friends, it’s that they’re always there when I need them. I have no idea how they found out about the murder, but they had and were waiting to offer support before I even had to ask for it.
“Are you okay?” Levi asked as he and Ellie enveloped me in a giant group hug.