Crack the Code (Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery Book 5)

by Shannon VanBergen

  “I’m going to go make a phone call,” Grandma said, getting up from the table.

  Greta patted my hand. “Oh Nikki, I’m so sorry. Another man who turned out to be rotten.”

  We sat there quietly until Grandma came back and sat down. “I called Glenda at the front office and she just checked. There’s no Alice here.”

  My heart sank. I was still hoping it had just been a coincidence but now that I knew he lied about his grandma being here, I knew he could lie about anything.

  “So, let’s walk through this,” Virginia said. “Ayden kills John Asuza and turns his death into a game so we can figure out just how bad of a person John was? That’s what all those clues meant? To expose the sins John committed in his life?”

  “I guess so,” I answered. “But Ayden seems so nice, so fun and child-like. So naïve even. And as bad as it sounds, it’s surprising to me that he could come up with something so clever. I just wish there was something that really confirmed it without a doubt.”

  “Maybe we’re missing something,” Grandma said. “Nikki read us back the list of clues.”

  I opened my notebook and looked at the list.

  Let’s have some fun

  Preoccupied

  Adulteries

  Annoyance

  Localism

  Suspicious

  Defeated

  Overdose

  I read them out loud and we all sat there thinking.

  “Eight clues,” Grandma said, thinking. “Using ROT-8…You don’t think there’s a clue within a clue, do you?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Grandma took my notebook and circled the eighth letter of each word, saying them out loud as she circled them. “E…P…I…C…M…O…D…E” Her face fell. “Nikki, I think this might be the confirmation you were looking for.”

  She slid the notebook back to me and I saw the circled letters. EpicMode. Ayden was guilty, and dumb enough to put his name in the clues.

  I sat back in my chair and grabbed my throbbing head. I didn’t want to believe it, but how could I deny it?

  “I’ll call Owen,” I said getting up from the table. Wouldn’t he just love this. He had even warned me about this guy, but as usual I didn’t listen.

  28

  The next morning Grandma and I were having breakfast and talking about the article on the front page of the newspaper – Ayden had been arrested. I still couldn’t believe it and yet there it was in black and white.

  Grandma’s door came open and in walked the grannies with coffees and donuts. Man, I loved these women. I shoved aside my bran flakes and opened the donut box. I inhaled the sweet smell of sugar and fat and grabbed a chocolate cream filled.

  Greta sat down and I noticed that Virginia was giving her a funny look. “What’s wrong with you two?” I asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Greta said. “We just ran into someone at the coffee shop and he told us some big news.”

  Owen must have gotten the job then. “Well, I’m happy for him. He deserves to be happy and if that makes him happy, then I’m happy for him.”

  “I’m proud of you Nikki,” Virginia said. “I didn’t think you’d take the news so well. When did he tell you?”

  “Yesterday,” I told them. “He told me not to tell you guys because it’s wasn’t a hundred percent sure thing. The way he acted I wasn’t even sure if he wanted it.”

  Greta frowned. “He told you he didn’t want it? That’s terrible.”

  “Not really,” I said. “It’s a huge change for him, not to mention a lot more responsibility.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Hattie said. “It’s completely changed my life.”

  I looked at the grannies and they looked back at me. “What are you talking about?” I asked them.

  “What are you talking about?” Virginia asked.

  “I’m talking about Owen moving to Vermont.”

  Greta cringed and Irene laughed but it was Hattie who filled me in. “We’re talking about Joe and his new wife expecting a baby!”

  For some reason the news hit me even harder than Owen possibly moving away. I sat there stunned.

  “Owen is moving?” Grandma asked. “Why?”

  I tried to pull myself together to form the words to tell her but my whole world felt like it was spinning. Joe and I broke up because he found out I had a fiancé, Bo, back in Illinois that I hadn’t broken up with yet. And even though I knew deep down I would never be exactly what Joe needed in a wife, it was still hard for me when he turned around and married Sophie so quickly after our breakup. And now he was expecting a baby. They were expecting a baby. It was all Joe ever wanted and it wasn’t even on my long term to do list, but I still felt paralyzed by the news.

  Finally, I was able to tell them about what Owen told me. But I made them promise not to tell anyone, especially him.

  We all sat there in silence for a minute, processing all the news. Ayden had been arrested, Joe was expecting a baby, Owen was probably moving. I felt like I should text Bo and see what major thing was happening in his life, but then I decided I couldn’t handle it if something big was truly happening.

  “This feels like a good time to give you this,” Hattie said, putting a large paper sack on the table and sliding it over to me.

  “What is it?” I asked, pulling the bag closer.

  “It’s Chantilly,” Hattie said sadly. “Lloyd and I decided we’re just not ready for a kid. We thought you should have her.”

  I pulled the doll out of the bag. Its hair was still matted from its swim in the Mayor’s pond and it was still missing an eye. “What happened to her dress?” I asked as I stretched out the now black and charred fabric for the others to see.”

  “Oh,” Hattie laughed. “She got a little too close to Lloyd’s pot of liver and onions last night. Nearly set the whole apartment a blaze!”

  I looked at the poor doll and thought all about what she had been through in her short amount of time here. I could totally relate. “Thank you, Hattie,” I said hugging the doll close. “I’ll take good care of her.”

  That afternoon Grandma knocked on my bedroom door and peeked in. “There’s Catalie Portman! I’ve been looking all over for her! It’s time for your vitamins!” Catalie jumped off the bed and ran past Grandma. “She hates those things,” Grandma said to me.

  Grandma sat next to me on the bed. “You can’t stay in here all day. It’s actually a beautiful afternoon. Would you like to grab a snack and go for a drive?”

  “Thanks,” I said to her. “But I don’t really feel like it.”

  She sighed. “Well, how about coming with me to the dentist then? We never did check out that last clue.”

  “Why does it matter?” I asked. “Ayden was arrested and the case is closed.”

  “I know but…it just feels unfinished to me. I think I need to go check it out just so I can put this whole thing to rest. You know, get some closure.”

  I could understand that. She stood up and started to walk away. I was sure she’d be fine going to check out the dentist by herself, but I just couldn’t let her go alone. “Wait up,” I said standing. “I’ll come with you.”

  She turned and smiled. “Great! Let me give Catalie and Kitty Purry their supplements and I’ll be ready to go.”

  Fifteen minutes later we were out the door.

  “So, what exactly are we doing?” I asked

  “Honestly I have no idea,” Grandma admitted. “Maybe just drive over there and see if anything looks suspicious?”

  I laughed. “Like we’re just going to randomly see something.”

  And yet, that’s basically what happened.

  “Is that Delores?” Grandma asked as we drove around the back of the dentist’s office.

  Sure enough it was, and she was sneaking in the back door.

  We got out of the car and snuck in just like Delores had. We were at the end of a long hallway with what I assumed were offices on either side.

  “How are
we going to find her?” I whispered.

  But just as the words left my mouth, I thought I heard her cry. “Was that Delores?”

  Grandma looked concerned and motioned for me to follow her. We crept down the hallway to the second door on the right and we could clearly hear Delores in there. I looked at the name plate on the door – it was Dr. Fernby’s office.

  I looked around to make sure no one was coming. This section of the building didn’t seem to house the exam rooms, thankfully, so hopefully no one would be coming down the hall anytime soon.

  “Please,” we heard Delores beg. “Just this one time.”

  “I’m sorry,” a man’s voice answered. “I’m not going to do that. I could lose my license!”

  “But you gave them to John! And then he gave them to me. Why can’t you just give them to me directly?”

  The man was irritated. “I gave them to John because he blackmailed me. I can’t help what he did with them after that.”

  There was some muffled crying and then we heard the man’s voice again. “Delores you need to get help. There are facilities than can help with opioid addictions.”

  Grandma and I looked at each other, shock flooding our faces. Delores was an addict.

  “Hey! What are you two doing?” We looked up to see a man coming toward us and from the look of him he wasn’t too happy that we practically had our ears pressed to Dr. Fernby’s door.

  “Run!” Grandma yelled.

  Thankfully we weren’t far from the exit. We ran outside and got in the car just as the man was coming outside. Grandma high-tailed it out of the parking lot and we were both breathless when we hit the main road.

  “Poor Delores,” Grandma said once she caught her breath. “This explains so much. Her dodging us, her strange newspaper articles…”

  “Her falling asleep in her car,” I added.

  “And that time Greta and Virginia saw her slip in the back door of the Dentist’s office.”

  “She mentioned John, she said she was getting pills from him. But everyone said he never took pills.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” Grandma said. “But we need to help Delores. She needs us right now.”

  My phone rang and I saw that it was Owen. I almost didn’t answer it. If he was going to tell me he was moving to Vermont I’d rather hear it on my voicemail than directly from him. But at the last second, I decided to answer it.

  “We had to let Ayden go,” he said disappointed.

  “What? Why?” I asked.

  “Because his alibi panned out. He was at a surf competition. He was actually pretty good. He came in second. Things still don’t add up with him, but I don’t have enough to hold him.”

  Part of me was relieved, but part of me was dumbfounded. If he was innocent, then why was his name revealed in the clue?

  “One more thing,” Owen said before he hung up. “I looked into TimeOut68 and I found out that a lot of people didn’t like him.”

  “Do you know if it’s John?” I asked.

  “I have someone checking it out now. I have to run. I just wanted you to know about Ayden.”

  I sighed as I hung up. “Ayden is free. His alibi panned out.”

  “I gathered that much,” Grandma said. “So, I guess we’re back to square one then.”

  Grandma pulled up in front of the retirement community and we sat in her car for a minute. “I’m going to call the others and tell them we need to stage an intervention.”

  While Grandma did that, I pulled out my own phone and typed in Ayden’s name. Didn’t he say he was on YouTube or something? Sure enough there was video after video of him playing games. How could people watch this stuff? Wouldn’t it be more fun to actually play the game instead of just watching someone play?

  His stats were impressive though – seven million subscribers.

  I picked one of the videos and only made it through the first few minutes. I scanned the selection of videos, not sure what I was even looking for. Then one caught my eye. It was titled “Myth of the Gods – CrazyEights shows how to get the Golden Crescent Blade.” CrazyEights, I remembered seeing his name on the screen shots Jeremy gave us. I clicked on it and the video started playing. Ayden was on the left side of the screen and he introduced his friend who was waving on the right side. I squinted and looked past the player known as CrazyEights. Was that a fish tank behind him? The screen changed to show the game, and someone was clicking on boxes and doing all kinds of other things I didn’t care about. I hit the button at the bottom to fast forward and finally CrazyEights was on my screen again. I blocked out what he was saying and just focused on the room around him. It looked like he was in a basement. Wood paneling lined the walls and there was a single window up close to the ceiling. Then I saw it – movement from the large tank. I was almost positive it was a snake.

  Grandma looked over my shoulder. “What is that racket? What are you watching?” she paused for a moment. “And why is Delores’ son in that video?”

  “Delores’ son?” I asked. “This guy?

  I pointed to the guy on the left and Grandma shook her head yes. I looked up at her. “Grandma that’s CrazyEights. He was one of the people Jeremy was complaining to on that forum. And it looks like there’s a snake in the background.”

  “Let me see,” Grandma said, taking the phone. “Oh my stars, it is a snake.”

  “CrazyEights, eight codes, ROT-8…Grandma, I think the killer is Delores’ son.”

  29

  The other grannies pulled up in front of Delores’ house the same time we did.

  “Are you sure the guy in the video was Delores’ son?” Greta asked as we made our way to the door.

  “I’m positive,” Grandma answered.

  We walked up the driveway and passed Delores’ car along with two others. As soon as we approached the door, we heard yelling.

  “Someone’s having a pretty intense argument,” Irene said. “Should we stay out here and listen or let ourselves in?”

  The shouting got louder and Grandma made the decision to go inside and make sure everything was okay. I sent Owen a quick text with the address and followed the grannies inside.

  The shouting was coming from the basement, so we made our way to the stairs and listened. Right away I could hear Ayden.

  “Why would you do this to me?” He yelled. “I thought we were friends!”

  “We are friends,” came a male voice who I assumed to be Rusty.

  “Friends don’t set each other up!” Ayden yelled. “They don’t send each other to jail for murder!”

  “What did you think you were doing?” Rusty asked, laughing. “You’re such an idiot. You just took the codes and put them where I told you and never once questioned why I had you do that?”

  “I just trusted you, I guess.” Ayden sounded hurt.

  “No,” Rusty pointed out. “You’re an idiot.”

  “How could you kill that Asuza guy?” Ayden asked. “What did he ever do to you?”

  “What did he do?” Rusty yelled. “He got my mom hooked on pain meds, man. She’s screwed up because of him. She’s upstairs probably passed out like she always is. He needed to die, and you know it. He was a horrible person and a waste of space on this earth.”

  We heard movement behind us and froze. I slowly turned around and there was Delores staring at us, a glazed look in her eyes.

  “Did you know about this?” Grandma asked her.

  Delores stared back at us and slowly shook her head no. She reminded me of a zombie. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and her hair was a mess. I noticed that her hands were trembling and that’s when I saw it – the knife.

  “Whoa,” I said putting my hands up. “Delores, it’s all going to be okay.”

  She narrowed her swollen eyes at us but didn’t speak.

  “Delores,” Greta soothed. “We can get you help. Everything is going to be okay. Please put the knife down. Killing us is only going to make the situation worse.”

  “Ki
ll you?” Delores asked. “I’m not going to kill you! I’m going to kill him!”

  We all turned around to see Rusty on the other side of us. He had just come up the stairs with Ayden.

  “Mom,” he said to her. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “Not thinking clearly?” she scoffed. “I wasn’t thinking clearly when I let you move back in four years ago after you lost your job! I wasn’t thinking clearly when I started paying for your car and credit cards. And I certainly wasn’t thinking clearly when I made excuses as to why you lived in my basement and played video games all day instead of getting yourself a real job! And how do you pay me back for all of my help? You kill someone? The one person who actually understood me and tried to help me? The one person who believed in me and made me feel like a woman?”

  Hmm. I was starting to think there was more going on between Delores and John than any of us ever suspected.

  “Gross mom!” Rusty shrieked. “Don’t talk like that.” He put his hands over his ears like he was a child.

  Delores waved her knife. “Well I’ve had it with you. You’ve driven me to this!” She lunged toward him like she didn’t even see all five of us standing in front of him. Virginia grabbed Delores’ hand and tried to wrestle the knife away. Delores bit her on the hand and Virginia let go, screaming.

  The knife was in the air again and this time it was Grandma who tried to get ahold of Delores’ hand to make her drop it. But Delores was surprisingly strong and held it tight before knocking Grandma to the floor with her other hand.

  That infuriated Hattie. I could see the anger in her face as she clutched her purse, swung it back and smacked Delores in the face with it. Fifty years of accumulated memories clunked against Delores’ skull and sent her flying backward and unconscious.

  Owen barged through the door and saw us all standing there. Grandma sitting on the floor, Virginia clutching her hand and Delores passed out. “What’s going on here?”

  “It’s Rusty!” I yelled. “He’s the murderer!” I turned to point to him, but he was gone.