A Cup of Death

by K. J. Emrick

  “Hi, Detective.” The taller of the officers was older, and Miranda remembered him. He was a senior officer, a guy who could have retired years ago and probably would have if he didn’t love his job so much. The other officers looked up to him. “Wasn’t hard to find this. I’m guessing whoever was driving it didn’t care if they ever got it back. When you hear who it’s registered to, you’ll understand why.”

  “Oh yeah?” Jack asked. “It’s good that you ran the plate already, Walt. Very smart.”

  “Not my first go round,” the officer—Walt—said with a chuckle. “Anyway, it’s registered to the same person as those other cars from the case at the Blue Jay Bed and Breakfast this weekend. That Skye Rogers woman.”

  That made them all pause and think. All except Kyle. He let out a low, long whistle. “It’s a small world after all, isn’t it?”

  “Which means the car was stolen and reregistered just like the ones at the Bed and Breakfast.” Miranda thought it through. “Well, at least we know that eliminates Jimmy Jones for sure, don’t we? Unless you think he was involved in that whole car theft ring from the Bed and Breakfast, too, and all the rest of that?”

  After a moment, Jack shook his head. “No,” he said. “Even for Moonlight Bay that’s too much of a coincidence. We do know some people who were connected to those car thefts, though. Josh Bates for one.”

  “Braydon Wise for another,” she added.

  Jack nodded. “Exactly. Those guys are the connection. Whoever had that stolen car today, it wasn’t Jimmy Jones. I guess your newest fan is just a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time after all.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him, earning a quiet laugh from the two cops watching them.

  “All right,” Jack said when the moment passed. “Get the car towed in and searched. Dust for prints. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “That’s going to take some time,” Walt noted. “Especially since there’s no keys in the ignition.”

  Interesting, Miranda thought. Why abandon a car but take the keys?

  “That’s all right,” Jack said to Walt. “Take your time. We’re pretty much down to just two suspects now. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out which did this. We’re on our way to talk to one of them now. There’s a patrol going over to find Janice Peniston as we speak.”

  “Yeah, there was,” Walt said with a shrug. “Sorry, Jack. They already radioed in. She’s gone.”

  “What!” Jack exclaimed. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Miranda couldn’t blame him for being upset. They’d been this close to going to get her first, and then Miranda had changed Jack’s mind, and then they’d been further delayed by the car that nearly ran her over. Now that Janice was gone, it was like part of their case had left Moonlight Bay with her. It was going to make their investigation that much harder.

  Jack finished a long-winded curse full of words Miranda hardly ever heard him say, and then he took a deep breath, and put his game face back on. “Well, we’ll just have to catch the one we have left. Walt, get the car to the station. Miranda and I are going over to talk to Hannah Smith and see what we can find out from her.”

  “Want us to go with you?” Walt asked him.

  Jack shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “No, thanks. We’ve got it. This one’s kind of personal.”

  “I wouldn’t say that too loudly. The Boss’s not happy with you as it is. You’re bringing in too much work for his liking.”

  “Ha. Well, Moonlight Bay isn’t the sleepy little nothing of a town it used to be. Or, maybe it never was that in the first place.” Jack shrugged. “Either way, good officers like you and me are the cure, not the problem.”

  “Amen to that, brother. We’ll get this car moved right away, Detective.”

  “Thanks, Walt.”

  As they were walking away from the scene, on the way back to the police department and their cars, Miranda cleared her throat. “So. Um, how long have you and the Sergeant been at odds with each other?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it being at odds,” he said.

  Kyle made a sound at the back of his throat. “I sure would. Let’s not mince words here, Jack. The way he spoke to you at the department? That’s not exactly the way you talk to someone when you like them.”

  “Kyle doesn’t believe you either,” she insisted. “So? I didn’t know there was any problem between you and your boss.”

  “Neither did I, until a few weeks ago.”

  “Ooh,” Kyle crooned, floating along beside them like some kind of ghostly shadow. “Gossip! I do love good gossip.”

  Miranda was dividing her attention between the two of them. Less so with Kyle, because he was still babbling on about what he thought the trouble between Jack and the Sergeant might be. She tuned him out and focused on Jack’s enigmatic expression.

  “Jack? Hey, what‘s going on at the station? What haven’t you told me?”

  “It’s nothing,” he tried to tell her, but he immediately knew that wouldn’t work. “The man running the Moonlight Bay PD has been doing that job for over thirty years now. I think he sees the end of his career rushing up fast, and he wants everything to be calm and quiet in his town, so he can live out his last days sitting in the Senior Sergeant’s chair without any trouble. All of this murder and mystery that has fallen on our town recently is too much for him. At least, that’s my opinion. Some of the other guys have a different one.”

  “Oh?” she asked. “What do the other guys think?”

  Kyle practically rubbed his hands together. “Yes, yes, do tell.”

  “They think,” Jack said, lowering his voice, “that he should retire and let someone else take over. Someone like Walt who’s been here forever and knows the town and its people.”

  “Or someone like you?” Miranda asked. “Someone who everybody looks up to and respects?”

  He didn’t answer her, but she saw the way his eyes lit up. He couldn’t hide that from her. She knew him too well. That position was something he wanted. Maybe not now, and maybe not anytime soon, but her man had aspirations to do more, and be more.

  She reached over and held his hand in hers. She loved this man.

  “All right,” Kyle cheered. “Let’s go!”

  Miranda laughed softly. She and Kyle would stand by Jack no matter what came next. The three of them could face anything together.

  Chapter 13

  They drove to the other side of town to find Hannah Smith’s place. Jack knew exactly where it was.

  “The address she gave us was the same one that we had for Braydon Wise,” he explained. “So, if there was any question before about whether he and Hannah Smith were an item, there sure isn’t anymore. Although, you have to wonder if the relationship was more in Hannah’s mind than anywhere else.”

  Miranda thought about that. “Hmm, right. Because at the same time that he was with Hannah, he was having an affair with Janice Peniston. Then Janice’s husband Leon turns up dead on my doorstep.”

  “Exactly. That’s some tangled up mess right there. Cause and effect?” he wondered out loud. “One of those things led to the other?”

  “Maybe that’s what it was,” Miranda said. “Maybe we’ve been wrong about all of this. Maybe it has less to do with me, and more to do with a simple love triangle.”

  “Love triangles,” Kyle declared from the backseat, “are never simple. Trust me. I’ve had more than my fair share.”

  “Kyle, I did not need to know that.”

  “What?” Jack asked.

  “Never mind,” Miranda told him, wanting to spare him from having that image in his mind. “You don’t need to know what he just said.”

  They pulled into the driveway of Hannah Smith’s place. The house was a nice little bungalow, with dark blue siding and white trim, flowers planted out front that were dull and wilting in the heat, and two cars parked in front of the unattached garage.

  “Why two cars?” Miranda asked. “Isn’t Braydon’s ca
r still over at your place where he left it?”

  “Yes,” Jack said, suddenly very serious. “It is.”

  “Then whose car is that?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m going to find out. You should stay here.”

  “Not likely,” she said, opening her door as he opened his. “I think we already debated the issue of whether or not I should sit this one out. You lost, remember?”

  “Yes, but that was about whether you could come along. Not about whether you would stay in the car.”

  “Jack…”

  “Better not try to argue with him, Miranda,” Kyle said. “You know how he gets when he’s made his mind up.”

  Miranda had every intention of arguing. As stubborn as Jack could be, she could be a thousand times more stubborn. Before she had the chance to say anything more they heard voices, raised from inside the house.

  “He’s not yours, he’s mine!”

  “Give me that back!”

  “No!”

  Miranda recognized Hannah Smith, and the other voice was Janice Peniston’s. Miranda was shocked to find out that she hadn’t left town after all. She was even more surprised to find she was here.

  The longer the argument went on, the harder it was to understand what they were saying as they started shouting over each other. Now Jack and Miranda were both running for the front door. All thoughts of who should or shouldn’t be going inside were forgotten. Something crashed to the floor in the house as the shouting got louder. Jack reached out and tried the door handle. It wasn’t locked.

  He took his gun out. It was another moment when trained police officers knew they were going to need protection handy, and ready to use, even if they hoped never to reach that point. He held up his other hand at the same time, indicating that Miranda should stay out here and that he was serious this time. Miranda glared at him but didn’t argue. She knew he was right.

  When he threw the door open and burst into the room, he took immediate control.

  “Police!” he shouted. “Everyone stop where you are! Stop where you are!”

  Miranda looked around the corner of the doorway. Kyle leaned in with her, his hazy blue features keen with interest.

  They were both in time to see Janice and Hannah throw their hands up. A revolver dropped between them and clattered against the floor. There was no way to see which one of them had been holding it.

  For a moment, everything was blessedly quiet. The world stood still around them.

  “All right,” Jack said to them. “Who wants to tell me what’s going on here?”

  Both of them did, both at the same time.

  “She tried to kill me!” Hannah cried out.

  “You’re a liar!” Janice Peniston dropped her hands and balled them into fists as she shook her head from side to side. “You old hag!” Janice spat the words out toward Hannah and then turned to Jack pointing her finger. “She was the one, believe me, she was trying to kill me.”

  “She’s lying!” Hannah retorted.

  “No, you’re lying!” Janice snapped back.

  “Oh, wow,” Kyle laughed as the two kept sniping back and forth. “I think if we added some mud and a pair of bikinis into this, we could sell it on the internet as pay per view.”

  “Everybody be quiet!” Jack roared, loud enough to be heard over the two women’s bickering. They both clamped their lips shut when he did. Miranda’s ears were still ringing in the silence. “That’s better. Now. Both of you step away from that gun before I feel the need to cuff someone. Two someones, for that matter.”

  Both women looked down at the gun, and then at each other, before backing away like Jack had told them to. Miranda could tell that both of them wanted to reach for it again. Whether for defense, or for murder, she couldn’t say.

  Very cautiously, Jack stepped forward and picked the gun up off the floor. It was an automatic, a slim and compact weapon, but it still looked like it could do some damage. Jack inspected it and pulled the action slide back just far enough to confirm there was a bullet in the chamber. Then he ejected the clip and slid it into his pocket before handing the gun back to Miranda.

  “Hold onto this for me.”

  “Hey!” Janice objected. “Why does she get to hold the gun?”

  “Because I trust her,” Jack told her, “and I don’t trust you. I take it that gun is yours?”

  “Of course not,” she huffed. “This is her house. It’s her gun.”

  Jack turned the question on Hannah with a look, and she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “Yes, it’s mine. What of it? I’ve a right to possess it. I’m a member of the Moonlight Bay target shooting club and it’s properly licensed and everything. And I’m also allowed to defend myself against people who break into my home, like this psycho right there!”

  “I did not break in!” Janice practically screamed. “I came here looking for Braydon. I should have known I wouldn’t find him here with her. He can’t stand her.” She sent a vicious look towards Hannah.

  Hannah looked like she was going to blow a blood vessel, her face turning a deep shade of red. “Why you little tramp!” Her hands clenched into fists as she turned to Jack. “I know he’s been sleeping with this whore and I know the two of them have been making a fool out of me. Now that her husband’s dead I’m sure she thinks she can just have at Braydon whenever she wants. She killed her own husband, I’m sure of it, and I’m not going to let her take Braydon away from me too!”

  “How dare you! Just shut up you old hag!” Janice screeched, lurching at Hannah, who lunged at her in turn. They grappled, hands grasping, nails clawing. The two of them were determined to tear into each other, even with Jack standing right there.

  “Yes!” Kyle cheered. “Pull her hair! Pull her hair!”

  “Will you stop it!” Miranda hissed. “This isn’t a good thing.”

  “Well, it’s not my kind of thing, honestly, but I have to admit I can see why other guys might be into this. Besides, it does my heart good to see two bad people trying to pummel each other.”

  “Kyle…” she started to argue with him, but then she saw his point. “Well, yeah. Kind of.”

  Jack slid his gun away and put himself physically between the two women, pushing them apart, one hand on Janice’s arm and one hand fisted into the back of Hannah’s blouse. “That’s enough! You’re both coming down to the police station, now. Miranda, call the station and have them send a couple of cars to transport these two. No way can we drive them together.”

  “Sure thing,” Miranda said.

  “Spoilsport,” Kyle grumped, folding his arms. “You know, you could have let me watch them go at each other for a little bit longer. It’s not like I go out to a lot of events as a ghost. Being your spirit guide is kind of a full-time job.”

  As true as that was, Miranda wasn’t going to let these two put each other in the hospital just to let Kyle get a few jollies. She would let him watch the wrestling channel tonight if he needed to see this sort of thing that badly. For now, this was over.

  “They have things to answer for,” she said out loud, as much to the two women as to Kyle.

  “What are you talking about?” Janice asked her bluntly, one fist on her hip. “I haven’t done anything.”

  “Right,” Hannah said immediately after. “Neither have I.”

  Jack kept himself between them. “Weren’t the two of you just trying to kill each other? That isn’t nothing. Tell you what. Let’s play twenty questions before we go down to the station. Who’s up for that?”

  “No,” Janice said right away. “Not without a lawyer.”

  Hannah threw a smirk her way. “Well I for one am perfectly willing to help the police.”

  “Good to hear, Miss Smith. Then answer me this. How did Braydon and Leon know each other?”

  “They worked together,” was the hesitant reply. Miranda didn’t know what, exactly, Hannah had expected Jack to ask her, but it obviously hadn’t been that. “For years. Um. It wasn’t exa
ctly above board, you understand. It was all under the table, so I don’t have like, paystubs and whatnot to show you. But Leon worked for Braydon.”

  “Shut up,” Janice hissed between clenched teeth. “You stupid, ignorant, wrinkly-faced idiot!”

  “That’s enough of that,” Jack said, his voice abruptly loud. “You said you didn’t want to talk to me, right? So stop talking.”

  Janice folded her arms and turned her face away. Her blonde hair fell across her cheeks.

  “You were saying?” Jack prompted Hannah. “Your boyfriend Braydon worked with Leon Peniston. What sort of work did they do, hmm?”

  Janice didn’t move as she growled, “Don’t you dare answer that.”

  Hannah opened her mouth, but then closed it again, her eyes darting from Janice to Jack. “I don’t think I actually know what they did.”

  It was the most obvious lie ever. Miranda knew it, and she was sure everyone in the room did as well. She could see Janice’s smug expression now that she thought she had Hannah silenced.

  Miranda knew she couldn’t let that be the end of the questions or they might never get Hannah to start talking again. Janice might never say anything anyway, not the way she was stonewalling them. It was Hannah they had to work on right now. It was Hannah they had to keep talking.

  “How about this,” Miranda said, keeping back from the women, very aware of the gun still in her hand. “I have a question. Braydon Wise and Leon Peniston were working together. What about Josh Bates? Where did he fit in?”

  Hannah looked over at Janice, but when she didn’t try to stop her from answering, she said, “Well, sure. Josh Bates was working for Braydon as well.”

  That confirmed what Miranda and Jack had seen at the diner. The four of them sitting at that table, and Braydon seemingly giving Bates instructions. So that settled that. There was an obvious question that followed, however, and Miranda thought she knew the answer already.

  She just wanted to hear it from Hannah.

  “Josh Bates worked as a tour boat captain,” she said. “I mean, when he wasn’t recruiting people to work for criminals, or dumping dead bodies in the ocean, or driving around in stolen cars. So. Did Braydon use Josh Bates for his tour boat? Is that service part of what he paid him for?”