The Root of All Trouble (20 page)

"
Not you, too! She made me promise."

"
Nina, if there's one thing you should know it's that promises are made to be broken."

Tam had a rough life growing up, and Nic
's dad was better off out of her life. But I thought things had been going well with her and Ian. "You okay? You and Ian?"

She smiled.
"Right as rain. Knock on wood." She tapped on the door jamb. "It's just that sometimes doing what's right means not being so righteous all the time."

I stuck my tongue out at her.

She laughed.

"
Speaking of Ian," I said.

Rolling her eyes, she said,
"What now? Does this have to do with Joey Miller's murder?"

She knew me too well. I swiveled in my seat again and fished through my tote. I came up with three plastic baggies and held them up.
"I have some extra work for you if you're willing?"

"
Standard terms?" she asked, stepping closer to get a better look at my bevy of evidence.

"
Yes. One hour babysitting for every hour you work on the side project."

She held up one of the bags—the one that held Bear
's cigarette butt. "Two hours. I'm going to have to get Ian involved, and you know how he hates that."

"
And I know you love to persuade him."

She blushed.
"You're right about that, but still."

"
Okay, an hour and a half."

"
Deal."

"
The cigarettes are from Bear and Ethan from Delphine's crew. I don't need their DNA run or anything that technical—just their fingerprints."

"
And this?" She held up Cain Monahan's business card. "A coroner's investigator? You don't really think he's involved..."

"
That one's personal."

Her eyebrows shot up.
"Oh?"

"
Not like that," I said. "It's just... A long story."

"
I have time."

"
Well, I don't. I have to get over to Mario and Perry's. One more favor?"

"
Two hours."

"
Talk about bamboozling."

She smiled.
"Where do you think Ursula learned it? What is it you need?"

"
I tried to do a search on Joey Miller, but his name was too common. Is there any way you—"

Holding up a hand, she cut me off and went searching in her tote bag. She finally pulled out a folder and dropped it on my desk.
"I had a feeling that you would be asking."

"
It's scary how well you know me," I said.

"
Terrifying. I'll prorate your hours appropriately." She wiggled her eyebrows and walked out.

As she greeted Sassy, I stared at the manila file. Taking a deep breath, I opened it.

Tam had done well—she even included a current picture, all his mug shots, and his Facebook profile picture. Part of me felt guilty that I used her talents this way, but the other part was just too damn grateful to have the information. Plus, most of what she gleaned was done through public records—she simply had more knowledge about how to weave through the Internet highway than I did.

At least that
's what I told myself as guilt continued to prick my conscience.

I checked through the pages of Joey
's rap sheet. It seemed he'd covered the whole gamut of crime from petty theft to multiple assaults to vehicular homicide.

I scanned the information Tam had found on the assaults. Most seemed to stem from confrontations with enraged homeowners who realized they
'd been conned or from bar-fight incidents. He was no stranger to jails.

Flipping the page, I focused in on the homicide charge—of which he
'd been ultimately acquitted. Seemed like Joey's temper had gotten the best of him—not with an irate homeowner or in a love triangle gone wrong (either of which I could easily believe)—but during a road rage incident in Michigan. Long story short was that he'd been tailgating a car on the highway, but when he tried to pass the other car would speed up, too. Both cars sped along until Joey finally passed the other vehicle—then cut back in front of it and slammed on his brakes. The other car lost control trying to avoid a crash and went off the side of the road and down an embankment. Twenty-two year old Emmett Walsh had been ejected from his car (he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt) and died on the scene.

Joey had driven off. According to the report, he claimed he hadn
't been aware there'd been a crash at all. Witnesses had given the police Joey's license plate number and he was initially charged only with driving with a suspended license (a previous DUI) but he was eventually charged with vehicular homicide.

Because Emmett
's car hadn't actually made contact with Joey's, and because Emmett had also been driving recklessly, Joey was acquitted.

I wondered if this case had been tried in the present day and age if the verdict would be the same. It didn
't make sense to me that Joey had gotten off scot-free since it had technically been his fault that the young man had to swerve because of Joey's actions...

Letting out a sigh, I closed the file. One thing was crystal clear after reading about Joey
's many transgressions: He was a dirtbag. Scum. The lowest of the low. How he kept attracting women amazed me because just looking at his picture made me want to bathe in hand sanitizer.

I stuffed the file in my backpack and swept all the confetti bits back into a new envelope, sealed it, and placed it under my blotter.

Today was going to be a busy day, and the sooner I got started the better. I took another sip of coffee, finished up some paperwork, and headed out to meet my nursery supplier at Mario and Perry's.

In a little under an hour, the backyard makeover would be in full swing and hopefully it would run smoothly all day.

Because if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to sneak over to the county offices to check out Cain Monahan...

And I couldn
't let that happen. It was time to know the truth.

Chapter Eighteen

B
ack in the Mill, I parked my truck in my driveway and was happy to see most of my crew already gathered across the street. A Reaux Construction van was also parked over there. Apparently we weren't the only crew in town to get an early start.

I
'd stopped on my way over to buy a new pair of work boots and to pick up some Krispy Kremes and plenty of coffee for the crew. I waved Marty Johnson over to distribute the goodies to my merry band of troublemakers as I affectionately called them.

I
'd also brought some donuts home for Maria and Perry, but when I went into the house, I was surprised to find it empty. There was a note from Maria on the counter saying Nate had come by early to pick her up.

I felt a sudden stab of sadness and realized I
'd miss her being here. Clearly I was losing my mind.

"
Perry!" I called.

He wasn
't due at the salon until ten, so I thought he'd still be around. I peeked out the kitchen window, wondering if he was across the street talking to Mario, but I didn't see either of them.

I was surprised by the little pang I felt at the house being empty. Usually I liked the peace and quiet, but I
'd grown accustomed to Maria's demands over the past two days and Perry's theatrics.

And of course, the silence only reminded me again that Riley didn
't live here anymore.

I really had to get a grip about that. It was silly. So silly. Even if he did live here, he
'd be at school by now.

Dropping the donuts on the counter, I hitched myself onto a stool and opened my laptop for a quick search of my mail.

I lit up when I saw a note from my father.

And
then deflated when I opened it.

Why do you want to know about The Black Fox
?

I groaned and sent off a quick one-word note.
Curious
.

I logged off and had started to head back outside when I spotted something that did not belong here.

I crouched down.

Gracie wagged her tail from her spot beneath the couch.

Rubbing her ears, I said, "Who's a good girl?"

She closed her eyes and wagged faster.

Slowly, I stood, wincing at the way my knees made popping noises and went to the kitchen phone. I dialed Maria. She answered on the second ring.

"
You forgot something here," I said.

"
I did?"

She tried to sound innocent but I wasn
't buying it.

"
Maria," I warned.

"
Nina, I don't really see what you're getting worked up about. Can't you just watch her for a week or two? Or a month? Just, you know, until the baby's home and settled in. Then we can introduce Gracie more smoothly."

"
You're not serious."

"
You don't like that plan?"

I noticed that Maria had left food and water bowls out for Gracie and both were topped off—I
'm glad she remembered to do that, at least. "You need to come back and get her. I'll be out of the house all day."

"
I can't, Nina. Nate's just left for work."

"
I thought he was taking the week off?"

"
I thought it was best that he get as much work done before the baby comes. He agreed."

I bet he did.
"Then drive over here and get her yourself."

"
I'm not sure that's a good idea. My blood pressure is a little high right now, so I need to lie down."

I bit the inside of my cheek.
"What are you up to, Maria Ceceri Biederman?"

"
I guess I could be persuaded to come by and get her if you also have my ultrasound results..."

Ah. Now I understood.
"You're using your dog as a pawn? That's just low, Maria. Even for you."

"
Don't use that tone with me, Nina. I'm desperate! And besides, we both know she likes you better than me."

"
You're crazy."

"
Take that back!"

"
We also both know this is just some game you're playing because you're bored. You could easily go to the doctor's and get another ultrasound done instead of torturing me this way."

"
Hmmph!" she said and hung up on me.

Gracie came out from beneath the couch and looked up at me with her cloudy eyes.

"I guess you're coming to work with me," I said.

If the piddle on the floor was any indication, she was as excited by the idea as I was.

***

B
efore I went to work, I stopped over at Mr. Cabrera's house to tell him about Brickhouse's travel plans. His car was in the driveway, but when I knocked and rang the doorbell, he didn't answer. I peered in the window, and the place looked deserted.

I hoped he wasn
't hiding out. The big chicken.

Across the street, I tied Gracie to a maple tree in Mario and Perry
's side yard, set out a water bowl, and laid out a towel for her in the shade. I found Kit in the back yard hard at work with the sod cutter, ripping up the sparse existing grass. The lawn had several varieties of grass seed and a poor root system. It had to go. Yesterday, Coby had cut down two more diseased trees, and the change in the amount of sunshine now getting to the back yard was going to make all the difference with the new sod and plantings.

I glanced around at everyone hard at work. Coby and Marty had already started on building the new deck. Shay Oshwalter and Jeff Dannon were laying out a test paver pattern. It was going to take another hour or two before the yard was a clean slate—and then the work would really begin.

Kit shut down the sod cutter as I walked up to him.

"
Where's Jean-Claude?" He should have been here by now.

"
He called me this morning and said he'd be late. Delphine's due in court at nine and he wanted to be there. Plum's with him, too."

Delphine was still being charged with Joey
's death.

I wondered if Honey would show up in court on
Jean-Claude's arm. What a spectacle that would be.

I started thinking about Honey, and wondered again how she could have married Joey in the first place. She had to have sensed the sleaze factor.

"Why're you looking like that?" Kit asked. He wore a bandana wrapped around his bald head and safety eyewear.