The Root of All Trouble (7 page)

"
Speaking of the yard, when do you think it will be cleared?" The weather had already put me behind on my plans, and I needed to know how long the police would need the area cordoned off.

"
Depends," Kevin said. "A day or two. It depends on the coroner's report and if someone happens to confess overnight."

A chill went up my spine as I thought again of the coroner
's investigator. "It doesn't seem like you have a lack of suspects."

He dragged a hand over his face.
"That's true. I'm waiting for background checks on Delphine and her crew before I head back to the station for interviews. I have a feeling more than one rap sheet is going to pop up."

Undoubtedly.

He added, "Why did Perry and Mario hire Reaux Construction in the first place? It doesn't seem like their type of company."

"
Caviar dreams," Maria said as she nibbled her apple to its core. She looked around—probably for my popcorn bowl. "Boxed-wine budget."

"
When did the crew start working there?" Kevin asked.

I wished I had changed my clothes—I was starting to get chilled.
"About two weeks ago."

"
Was Joey Miller there every day?"

"
Is this why you came over?" I asked. "To question me?"

He smiled.
"It wasn't for the hospitality—or to see the rat."

"
Hey!" Maria said. "You're going to hurt Gracie's feelings."

I was pretty sure Gracie was stone-cold deaf—her feelings were safe from his jibes.

Kevin leveled me with a hard stare. "You never had an argument with Joey, did you?"

"
Nope, though I did kick him in the shins once after he grabbed my ass."

"
Me, too," Maria said, holding her apple core with two fingers.

Kevin closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.
"I can't say I blame him for trying. I mean, look at you two."

Maria glanced at me.
"I like him again."

"
But," Kevin continued, "after hearing the type of person he was, I am surprised that it's taken this long for someone to snuff him out."

"
Well," I said, "apparently someone reached the end of his or her tolerance with him."

Kevin glanced at his watch.
"I better go. I have some interviews to do." He stood and stretched. "Is it okay if Riley comes here tonight? I'll probably be pulling an all-nighter at the station."

"
No problem." I was practically giddy at the thought. I missed that boy something fierce. "Hey," I said as Kevin strode to the door.

"
Yeah?"

"
Do you know the coroner's investigator who showed up today?"

"
Which one?" he asked.

"
The hottie," Maria said.

I frowned at her.
"He's medium tall, dark hair, a little scruff..."

"
Sounds like the new guy, Cain Monahan." He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

Cain Monahan. Not Seth Thiessen.

"No reason," I said.

"
Are you interested in him?" Kevin asked. "As in
interested
in him?"

"
Yes," Maria said. "Yes, she is. Can you set them up?"

"
No, I'm not
interested
in him."

Kevin said,
"Then why did Maria say..."

"
She's messing with your head. It's what she does."

He glared at her.

"That'll teach you to call my dog a rat," she said loftily, then ruined her haughty moment by trying to stand up.

I gave her a helping hand and said,
"The man reminded me of someone I used to know. I thought it might be him."

"
Who?" Kevin asked.

"
No one. A ghost."

Kevin opened his mouth, then snapped it closed again. He looked between Maria and me, shook his head, and pulled open the door.

"Oh Kev?" I said.

He looked over his shoulder.

I smiled. "Jealousy becomes you."

Chapter Six

A
few hours later, my cousin Ana sailed through my front door, her long dark hair flying out behind her, and flung her hands into the air. "I'm gone for one afternoon at a lousy conference and you dig up a body across the street? You're a menace, Nina Quinn. No, you're a corpse whisperer, that's what you are. You're better than a bloodhound. Now," she said, plopping next to me on the couch, "tell me everything, including whether any of your employees had anything to do with it."

I muted the TV—I was still glued to the
Project Runway
marathon—and faced her head-on. "First, I didn't dig up Joey Miller's body. I wasn't even around when it was found. The storm blew over a tree, and the body fell out of the rotted trunk. Second, so help me if that nickname sticks, I know where you live. Third, I don't think any of my employees had anything to do with it. However, Jean-Claude did start acting strangely when he saw the police."

Because of her job, Ana had a vested interest in most of my employees
' criminal statuses.

"
Stranger than normal?" she asked.

"
I think he walked home. He was supposed to get a ride from his cousin Plum, but he pulled a disappearing act after the body was found."

Ana gasped.
"Walked?"

Even though Jean Claude wasn
't afraid to get his hands dirty, he was inherently lazy. Walking a few miles home was definitely out of character. "In the rain."

"
He willingly got his hair wet?"

"
This is what I'm saying. It's strange."

"
That's not good." She whistled low, then suddenly belted out a high-pitched scream. Scrambling, she flailed as she pulled her feet onto the couch and peered downward. "What the hell was that?"

"
What? What?" I cried, pulling my feet up, too.

"
Something licked my ankle!"

We cowered together as Gracie wobbled out from beneath the sofa and peered up at us with baleful dark eyes.

Ana pressed her hand to her large chest. "Sweet baby Jesus, I think I just had a heart attack."

I looked at her, then Gracie
, and burst out laughing, falling backward onto the sofa cushions.

"
Nina Colette Ceceri Quinn, it isn't funny!" Ana chastised. Then her lip quivered, and she started laughing too, collapsing on top of me.

I wiped tears from my eyes and bent down to pick up Gracie. She climbed over my legs like she was scaling
Mount Everest and lurched onto Ana's lap. She commenced in licking Ana's chin.

"
She likes you," I said.

Ana patted the dog
's head. "I think she just smells BeBe on me. I was just over there."

BeBe was Kit Pipe
's massive mastiff. Once upon a time Kit and BeBe lived with me as boarders, but he'd since moved in across the street. Into Bobby's former house.

Bobby MacKenna and I had a history. Not a long one, but one that involved love, loss, and broken hearts. He moved to
Texas at Christmastime to live near his ailing mother, and Kit had been house-sitting for him. But a few months ago Kit bought the house outright.

I glanced out the front windows at the bungalow directly across the street, at the glow in the windows. My heart clenched a little, like it did whenever I thought of Bobby. Truthfully, I
'd been holding out hope that he'd eventually move back, that we'd pick up the pieces...then he sold the house to Kit.

The sale officially told me it was time to move on.

If only my heart would listen to that memo.

I tried to tell it that sometimes relationships just didn
't work out. The timing was wrong. It wasn't destiny. To remember the good times and forget the bad.

My heart told me to shut the hell up.

"Nina? Are you okay?"

"
Me? Fine."

Ana tipped her head, and her eyes softened.
"You sure about that?"

She knew me too well.

"I'm fine. Really. How's Kit doing? He's been hiding out all afternoon."

She narrowed her eyes, but let her line of questioning go.
"He's good. He just didn't want to get involved with the whole dead body thing, especially with the timing."

"
Timing?"

"
It's been six months since Daisy was killed."

Daisy had been Kit
's ex-girlfriend, and for a while he was a suspect in her death. Ana had helped him through those initial dark days, but if anyone realized that the dark days never quite went away, it was me.

That was me. Nina Colette
Corpse Whisperer Ceceri Quinn.

I was grateful when Ana changed the subject—she didn
't like talking about Daisy any more than Kit or I did.

"
Why is Gracie here?" she asked.

"
Because Maria's staying the night."

"
Maria's here?" Ana craned her neck as if she had missed seeing a very-pregnant woman in the room.

As if that were possible.

"She and Riley are at Kroger picking up a few things."

"
Riley's here, too?"

"
Kevin's working late, with the new case." I gestured across the street.

"
Full house."

I nodded, not minding the company one bit. Living alone was proving to be challenging for me.

Maybe I needed to get a dog.

Gracie looked over her shoulder at me and sneered, one snaggle tooth catching on her lip.

Or a cat.

"
Well...I have some news," Ana said, scooping up Gracie and cradling her like a baby.

Ana apparently had no qualms about being peed on.
"What kind of news? Good or bad?" I watched the way she held Gracie and gasped. "You're not pregnant, are you? Oh my God, you're pregnant!"

"
No, I'm not pregnant. But remember a couple of minutes ago when you said that you know where I live?"

I thought back, searching my brain.

She sighed. "When you threatened me about the nickname 'the corpse whisperer'?"

I snapped my fingers.
"
Now
I remember. And seriously, I do know where you live. I will come after you."

Her big brown eyes grew round as her face lit.
"I won't be living there anymore."

"
What's that mean?"

"
I'm moving in with Kit. This weekend."

My gaze zipped to her ring finger. Her bare ring finger.

"I know, I know. I said I'd wait until he proposed, but it's a good time. My lease is up, he lives right across the street from you—and let's face it, someone needs to look after you—and..."

"
And what?" I asked.

Tears welled in her eyes.
"I love him."

Reaching over, I pulled her into a hug.
"I know you do, and he loves you. The ring is only a matter of time."

She sniffled.
"It is, right? Only a matter of time?"

"
Kit's not a stupid man," I said, holding her close. "Obviously, since he fell for you."

Kit wasn
't stupid but he could be stubborn. I hoped he didn't wait too long to get that ring on her finger. Because she wouldn't wait forever. She was as proud as he was obstinate.

She swiped tears from her eyes.
"Nina?"

"
Yeah?"

"
Can I borrow some clothes? Gracie just peed all over me."

***

N
ight had fallen early thanks to the stormy weather. Maria and I sat side-by-side in the dark, Riley occupied the recliner, and the only light came from the flat-screen TV above the fireplace. We were still glued to the TV for the
Project Runway
two-part finale (finally!), and Heidi was just about to announce the winner when voices arose outside and footsteps landed heavily on the front porch.

I didn
't budge from my spot on the couch—I recognized the visitors' voices. They were friends, not foes. Most of the time.

There was a polite knock before the door swung open and Perry marched inside. Mario followed, nipping at his heels a lot like Gracie nipped at mine.