Pretty, Hip, & Hoodwinked

by Madison Johns

  Chapter 13

  Kimberly, Agnes, and Eleanor were back over across the street from Eddie the next morning.

  Annie handed Agnes a cup of coffee and asked, “What are you doing again?”

  “Watching Eddie’s house,” Kimberly said, sipping her milk. “Agnes isn’t positive that Eddie wasn’t involved in Rosemary’s death yet.”

  Annie shook her head. “I thought you were trying to find out who stole the money from Mrs. Barry.”

  “We are, but we think Rosemary was somehow involved in the theft.”

  “Ah, I see. This investigating sure looks easier on television.”

  “I hardly think that’s the case. We’re out of clues so hopefully Eddie will lead us to our next one.”

  “Well, you better hurry, he’s pulling out of his driveway.”

  Agnes, Eleanor, and Kimberly rushed out the door and pursued Eddie from a safe distance. “He’s no fool. I’m sure he sees us back here,” Kimberly said.

  “Not with Eleanor’s Cadillac.”

  “Yup, it’s good to change vehicles,” Eleanor said. “It keeps them guessing.”

  They followed Eddie up to the public beach and he took a quick right, disappearing up a hidden driveway.

  “What now?” Eleanor asked.

  “We could sneak around the other side. There’s a house that’s empty and for sale. We could slip through the gate and hopefully see something. From that vantage point we should be able to see in the backyard of that house,” Kimberly suggested.

  “I like how she thinks,” Eleanor said.

  Agnes drove up the street and turned around, pulling into the driveway that Kimberly suggested. They quietly crept out of the car and through the gate. There was a shed positioned against the fence and they hid behind it.

  “This is better than I hoped for,” Agnes whispered.

  Music blared from the house next door now and Kimberly sneaked a peek. “It looks like they’re having a barbecue.”

  “Is anyone in the backyard?” Agnes asked.

  “Yes, a woman is starting a fire in the campfire pit. And oh-oh.”

  Agnes took a look now and smiled. Eddie came up from behind the woman and put his arms around the dark haired woman’s waist. “It looks like Rosemary wasn’t Eddie’s only girlfriend.”

  “Let me see,” Eleanor whispered. She adjusted her glasses as she stared over there.

  A throat was cleared from behind them and they turned to see a woman dressed in a skirt and blouse staring at them. “Can I help you ladies with something?”

  “Why, yes,” Agnes said. “I was thinking of buying this house.”

  “Oh, most people look inside the house before they start peeping on the neighbors.”

  Agnes put a hand to her chest. “I beg your pardon? I’d like to know what the neighbors are like before I decide to buy. I’d hate to be stuck living next door to some young people who play loud music and have parties all night.”

  “Would you like to see inside the house?”

  “Are you the realtor?”

  “No, but I could call her if you like. I live across the street. When I saw a strange car parked in the driveway over here, I had to investigate.”

  “That’s good to know. Is there a neighborhood watch here, too?”

  “I believe all of Redwater has a neighborhood watch in one fashion or another.”

  They followed the woman back to the Cadillac. “Do you know the name of the woman who lives at that house?”

  “If you’re asking about the backyard you were peeping into, yes. Missy Todds lives there with her parents. They’re gone most of the time so Missy has plenty of time to throw parties, I’m afraid. All you have to do though is phone the sheriff. He always sends out a deputy and that resolves it pretty quickly.”

  “We noticed Eddie Wright was over there, too.”

  “Oh, yes. They’ve had an on again, off again romance for a few years now. It must be on again.”

  “I’m very familiar with how that works,” Kimberly said. “I thought Eddie was seeing Rosemary Johnson, though.”

  The woman gasped. “I know,” she whispered. “I just heard she was found dead yesterday.”

  “It’s on the news already,” Agnes began. “I mean, I didn’t see that on the news.”

  “It’s not on there yet. I heard it from the rumor mill. I’m shocked something would happen like that at Willow Creek Estates.”

  “Why is that?” Agnes asked.

  “They have the best neighborhood watch in town. They have two members of that community that patrol day and night.”

  “That sure makes me think. Was it an inside job?”

  “I haven’t heard, but you better get moving. The realtor has a showing in half an hour here. She’ll call the sheriff for sure if she sees you lurking around. She’s Deputy Danworth’s sister.”

  “Enough said.” Kimberly smiled. “We appreciate all your help.”

  They parked at the public beach and Kimberly asked, “So where do we go from here? I can’t imagine Missy will be leaving anytime soon.”

  “No, we’ll have to catch up with her later.”

  “So where are we going, then?” Eleanor asked. “Or, I meant are we going back to Willow Creek Estates?”

  “We think so much alike Eleanor that it’s scary sometimes,” Agnes remarked.

  Agnes pulled into the Willow Creek Estates and coasted past Rosemary’s manufactured home that was covered with police crime scene tape. She parked at the curb.

  When they got out of the car, Eleanor asked, “So where to now?”

  “Let’s head over and see if that lady wants to talk with us now.”

  “The one who thinks I was at Rosemary’s house before she was murdered?” Kimberly asked with widened eyes.

  “You can’t let that bother you. We’ve been, I mean, I’ve been with you since I arrived. I’m the one person who can vouch for you, Kimberly.”

  Kimberly appeared doubtful, but she led they way over to the house and rapped on the door. The same woman didn’t answer the door; instead, it was the teenager, who said her name is Serena.

  “Can I ask you a few questions?” Kimberly asked.

  “Sure, but not here.”

  Serena closed the door and led them between houses until they were near the pool area, which had picnic tables and benches. She sat down and sighed. “I’m sorry about my mother yesterday. She doesn’t like to get involved, especially with a suspicious death.”

  “What makes you think it was suspicious?” Kimberly asked.

  “I can’t imagine that many cop cars being there means it wasn’t suspicious. They have crime tape all over the place.”

  “Did you know Rosemary?” Agnes asked.

  “Not personally. I mean, she seemed nice enough, even waved at me when I walked past.”

  “Have you seen anything out of the way happening over there?”

  “Me and my mother saw a blonde over there the night before she died, but I know it wasn’t you, Kimberly. I’ve seen your ads and this woman was a little curvier than you are.”

  “She’s right,” Agnes said. “The recording at the bank was so distorted that it was hard to pick up that kind of detail, but now that you mention it I think so, too.”

  “At least that clears me.” Kimberly laughed.

  “Who else visited Rosemary?”

  “There was that man in a blue truck.”

  “Eddie Wright?”

  “I don’t know his name, but he always had car parts in the back of his truck or a motor.”

  “That sounds like him all right,” Eleanor spoke up.

  “Then there was another man. He was about six-feet tall with blond wavy hair. He looked like someone you might see in a surfer movie.”

  From the stars in Serena’s eyes, Agnes had to ask, “Good looking, was he?”

  “You could say that.”

  “We heard the neighborhood watch is pretty active here,” Kimberly said.

  “O
h, yes. They’d be good to speak with. Maybe they saw something I didn’t.”

  “And where would we find them?”

  Serena pointed out a brick building. She rolled her eyes. “They meet in the commons hall. It’s their base of operations.”

  “Thank you, Serena. You better get back before you mother realizes you’re missing.”

  “I know. She’s been freaked out ever since the thing with Rosemary.”

  Serena rushed off and Agnes said, “So we have Eddie who was seeing someone else other than Rosemary.”

  “But he wasn’t the only man in her life,” Eleanor added.

  “I had no clue Redwater had all of this going on,” Kimberly said.

  “It’s like most towns,” Agnes said. “Lets head over and see what the neighborhood watch has to say.”

  When they were at the commons hall, Agnes and Eleanor strolled in with Kimberly. There were a handful of tables set up with what Agnes suspected were members of the neighborhood watch playing cards.

  “Who is in charge here?” Agnes asked.

  Fingers were pointed toward a man who was sleeping in a rocking chair. “You have to be kidding me,” Eleanor said. “It’s no wonder a woman was murdered in Willow Creek Estates.”

  Agnes shook her head. “And here we were told the neighborhood watch here was the best in Redwater.”

  “Now listen here. You can’t blame us for that,” a sixty-ish woman said. “That’s not the quadrant I watch.”

  “So who should we be asking?”

  “Phil and Wanda Schultz. They live in number fifty-two. It’s on the same side where Rosemary lives. I-I mean, used to live before her demise.”

  “Thank you. I’m surprised we could walk in here like this,” Agnes said. “Obviously your reputation is all talk.”

  Kimberly snickered as they left. “You really told them, but you were right. They look too sleepy to be of any effect.”

  Agnes and Eleanor strolled along the sidewalk that led back to where Rosemary had lived, searching for number fifty-two.

  “Where did Kimberly go?” Eleanor asked. “She seems to be missing.”

  “She’ll catch up.”

  Suddenly Kimberly slipped from between two homes and did a little wave. “What took you two so long?”

  “Have you been here before, Kimberly?” Agnes inquired.

  “I used to drive through here sometimes before I married Jeremy. I thought it would be a nice place to live, but I’m not so sure about that now.”

  “Crime and murders happen everywhere, not just where you’d expect them to.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone expects crime to happen, Agnes,” Eleanor insisted.

  “I suppose not. What happened to Rosemary might not have been all that planned out. That crime scene was a mess. I wouldn’t be surprised if the assailant forced her to take the pills from that medicine bottle we found.”

  “May have,” Kimberly said. “But that doesn’t explain the rat poison in the trash can.”

  “Perhaps she had mice,” Agnes reasoned.

  “Not in brand new homes like this. If not for an overdose, I wonder how Rosemary really died. Why, it might not have had anything to do with the theft of Mrs. Barry’s money.”

  “True, but I can’t imagine any other reason someone might want her dead.”

  Agnes knocked on the door of number fifty-two and when nobody answered, Eleanor pounded on the door.

  “Who is it?” an old woman asked, peering through the crack of the chain-locked door.

  “We’re here to speak with you about the neighborhood watch.”

  “Go over to the commons hall. They’ll be able to tell you whatever you want to know.”

  “We did, but they sent us here,” Agnes insisted. “We were told the neighborhood watch members that live here were working the night Rosemary Johnson was murdered.”

  The door snapped open now. “M-Murdered? Phil, wake up, this woman here says Rosemary was murdered. Come inside ladies.”

  She hurried and closed the door behind Agnes, Kimberly, and Eleanor. Phil didn’t wake up. He was still very much asleep in his chair with the television blasting a crime show.

  The woman filled a glass of water and Agnes was worried that she’d toss the whole glass on poor Phil’s head. But instead she merely flicked water on him.

  Phil opened one eye. “Stop that, Wanda.”

  “I told you to wake up, Phil. These ladies here said poor Rosemary Johnson was murdered.”

  “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out, Wanda. Not with every cop car from town over there.” Phil opened both eyes now. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Agnes and this is Eleanor, we’re private investigators.”

  “No, I meant that vision of loveliness behind you.”

  “I’m Kimberly Steele.”

  “What a lovely name for a lovely girl. Are you here selling Girl Scout cookies?”

  “No, sorry.”

  “Drat, I sure would love to buy some.”

  “Stop flirting with the girl, Phil. These ladies would like a moment of your time.”

  “I suppose I could be convinced to do that if the girl would give me a kiss on the cheek.”

  “Not a good idea,” Agnes whispered to Kimberly. “If he gets you in his grasp, he might never let you go.”

  Kimberly smiled. “I can’t, I’m married.”

  “Don’t forget pregnant,” Eleanor added for good measure.

  “It wasn’t me, I swear, Wanda.”

  “In your dreams, old man.”

  Agnes tried to move the questing along. “Did you happen to hear any commotion over at Rosemary Johnson’s house the night she was murdered?”

  Phil thought for a moment before he said, “I don’t have the best hearing, I might say. I even have to wear a hearing aid.”

  “But I replaced your batteries that day,” Wanda said.

  “That must be why we’ve been arguing so much of late.” Phil grinned a toothless grin. “I do believe I heard quite the racket at Rosemary’s place, but with two fellas to keep up with, it’s to be expected.”

  “Do you mean she’s seeing two different men?” Agnes asked.

  “That’s what I just told you. Are you hard a hearing, too?”

  Agnes merely smiled, but instead of answering that question, she asked, “What did they look like?”

  “One was average height with dark hair, dirty looking most of the time like he might work on cars.”

  “Then there was a handsome man, a tall one,” Wanda said with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “Did you see either of them over at Rosemary’s house that day?”

  “I saw both of them that day and a young blonde that looks a little like you, Kimberly,” Wanda said. “When the music got kinda loud in the evening, I thought it was to mask all that noise Rosemary makes when she … you know.”

  “Was there a vehicle in her drive?”

  “I couldn’t see all that good in the dark, but it might have been a truck,” Wanda said.

  “Or a car,” Phil added. “Wanda has trouble telling which is which these past five years.”

  “I’d talk if I was you, old man.”

  “How long have you been married?” Agnes asked.

  “Too long,” Phil said, quickly adding, “Forty years,” as Wanda was poised to throw the entire glass of water in his face.

  “That’s quite a length of time. I hope Jeremy and I are married that long,” Kimberly said.

  “How long have you been married, dear?” Wanda asked.

  “Almost a year.”

  “And you’re pregnant already?” Phil asked.

  “This is our second, actually. We were married when I was six months along.”

  “At least you said your I do’s before the baby was born. Most young couples these days don’t.”

  “It’s not like how it was in our day, Phil,” Wanda said. “If a woman found herself with child back then, it was expected that they get marri
ed.”

  “Things have changed,” Agnes said. “I’m not sure for the better, in many cases.”

  “So you can’t really identify the car or truck that was there?” Eleanor asked.

  “No, sorry,” Wanda said.

  “I think the only car that was there belonged to Rosemary,” Phil said.

  “Why didn’t you say that before?” Wanda asked Phil.

  “Because I didn’t remember it before now, woman.”

  “Thank you for all your help,” Kimberly said, leading the way to the door.

  Chapter 14

  “What now?” Eleanor asked. “How are we supposed to find that six-foot Greek god that Rosemary was double timing Eddie with?”

  “We can’t be absolutely certain she was seeing someone else,” Kimberly pointed out. “He could be related to her, for all we know.”

  “Well, there’s one way we could find out,” Agnes said. “We could slip into Rosemary’s house and look for clues.”

  “You mean the house with the crime tape all over it?” Eleanor asked. “Never mind, don’t tell me.”

  “That’s a great idea, Agnes,” Kimberly said. “We could see if she has any pictures. We never thought to look for that when we were there.”

  “That’s because we weren’t at that phase yet,” Eleanor said. “We were more at the freaking out phase because we had just found a dead body.”

  “I know that, Eleanor, but it’s the only way we’ll ever find out,” Agnes said.

  “You’re presuming that we’ll find some evidence like a picture of the two of them, which makes absolutely no sense. If she was dating Eddie, she couldn’t have something like that around now, could she?”

  “Who says it’s up where anyone could see it? My thought is that she might have it in a drawer or, I don’t know, with her other pictures.”

  “Like a photo album,” Kimberly added.

  “So when do you plan to try this stunt that’s going to get us arrested for breaking and entering?”

  “In a little while,” Agnes said.

  “In broad daylight!”

  “Yes, we could look like we’re there to clean the place.”

  “With crime scene tape? Highly unlikely.”

  “We could wear a disguise of sorts,” Kimberly suggested. “We could find some ugly overalls and take cleaning supplies.”