by Cindy Bell
Joyce opened her front door, and heard a loud thump from the other room. The sound startled her at first, then she smiled in reaction to it.
“Yes, I’m home, Molly. Hang on, I’m coming to see you.” Joyce tugged her shoes off, left them near the door, then headed down the hall to Molly’s room. Molly had a hutch so big that it needed a room to itself. It gave the rabbit plenty of space, but most of the time Joyce let Molly roam free and she often managed to escape her hutch. When she did escape it could take Joyce quite some time to find where the rabbit had hidden, and she could leave quite a mess. “Hi baby.” She cooed at the rabbit as she opened the door to her hutch. “I’m home early.”
Molly practically jumped into her arms. Joyce cuddled her as she carried her into the living room. The softness of the rabbit’s white coat still startled her. She’d never felt anything softer.
As Joyce sat down on the couch with Molly, the rabbit twitched her nose. “Yes, I know, I shouldn’t be home, yet. But something terrible happened today.” She confided the entire experience to Molly. “If only Davey was here, he’d be able to figure this out, I’m sure of it. But he’s not.” She glanced over at the picture of her late husband that hung on the wall. She still missed him as much as the first day she lost him, but somehow the pain had gotten a little less sharp over time. She had to admit that sometimes Detective Crackle reminded her of him. Perhaps that was why she felt a faint buzz of excitement each time she saw him. She closed her eyes and attempted to wash that sensation away. Whatever the reason she felt it, it wasn’t important at the moment. What mattered was finding out what happened to Alexa, and she certainly wasn’t going to leave it solely in the hands of Detective Crackle. She could only guess how many interviews he would have to wade through before he made any progress on the case. She intended to go straight to the source, Alexa’s website.
Chapter 6
Brenda opened the front door to her house, and released a sigh of relief. Only two hours before she had walked out, eager to get an early start to her day. Now she had returned, with the urge to never leave again. At least at home she knew what to expect, and she felt safe. She had sent a brief text to Charlie to let him know what had happened and that she was fine. The quiet in the house indicated that her daughter and husband might have gone out. But as she stepped farther inside, she heard a voice call out to her.
“Brenda, is that you?”
Charlie stepped out of the hall that led from the living room to the kitchen. The sight of him made her heart lurch with a sudden mixture of emotions. Without saying a word, she opened her arms to him. It took him only a second to reach her. As he wrapped her up in his arms he kissed the top of her head.
“I know. I know it’s been a rough morning.” Charlie winced.
“I have no idea how this could happen, Charlie.” Brenda buried her nose in the curve of his neck, the faint scent of his favorite soap soothed her.
“It’s a terrible thing. I sent Sophie over to Dawn’s to play so we could have some time alone to talk about what happened.” Charlie led her to the couch, then sat down beside her. “Are you okay? There wasn’t much said on the news report about what happened, other than a body being found.”
“Yes, I am okay. No one else was hurt. But I was there, I saw her, and I just can’t get that moment out of my mind, Charlie. I was walking through the parking lot, then I heard something hit the ground, and tires squeal. By the time I turned around the car was almost gone, and Alexa was there.” She shuddered at the memory.
“I’ve said it before, and I mean it. They really need to increase security at these events.”
“That’s the thing, there was plenty of security. Detective Crackle was even there to make sure that the security was in place, because of the protests they expected. And the protests happened yesterday, and there was a scuffle, but no one got hurt. Except, I did hear a rumor that a punch started the whole thing. Someone snatched Alexa first thing this morning, even before I was up. She was in the middle of a vlog.” Brenda sat back and looked into her husband’s eyes. “It must have happened so fast. I can’t even imagine. She had to have been in her hotel room, how could anyone have access to her there?”
“It must have been someone she trusted.” Charlie frowned as he continued to hold her close. “You know, when she worked at the paper for a few weeks she told me about receiving death threats. She claimed she didn’t take any of them seriously, but she tended to upset a lot of people.”
“Really? Did you get to know her well?” Brenda checked her phone, relieved to see a text from Joyce that she had gotten home safe. “I want you to tell me everything you can about her. I feel like I knew nothing about her, and maybe if I knew a little bit more it would help all of this to make sense.”
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know her well. I’m not sure that anyone could know her well. She had such an arrogant nature. I asked her once how she dealt with all of the fame, and she said she had a good friend back home that kept her humble.” Charlie closed his eyes, then nodded. “I think her name was Poppy.”
“Poppy.” Brenda sighed. “I wonder if anyone has been able to reach her friends or family, yet. I hope so.”
“I’m sure they would have.” He nodded. “What can I do for you? How can I make this better?”
“I’m not sure that you can.” She sat down on the edge of the couch, but still held his hand. “I feel like until the killer is found, I’m not going to be able to move on from this.”
“The police will figure all of this out.” He sat down beside her and leaned close. “I’m here for you, sweetheart, whatever you need. Just say the word, and I’ll do it.”
“All I need is you, Charlie.” She smiled as she gazed at him. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
“I could say the same.” He gave her a light kiss on her cheek. “In fact, I should say it more often. Hopefully, all of this will be over soon. I’m sure the police will put all of their resources on this.”
“If it’s up to Joyce we might not just leave it to the police.” Brenda smiled some. “She has such a mind for mysteries, I guess since she spent so many years discussing cases with Davey.”
“It probably makes her feel close to him again to investigate things.” Charlie’s jaw tensed some as he studied her. “I can understand why she would want to investigate, but it’s important to be careful. Whoever did this to Alexa, didn’t just kill her. The person wanted to send a message. Otherwise why would the body have been left at the town square?”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Brenda sat forward, her eyes narrowed as she contemplated the options. “Someone wanted her found quickly. I mean why risk dropping her there when there were people already around?” She shivered again as the image replayed through her mind. “You’re right, whoever did this is a very dangerous person. We will be careful.”
“If their message doesn’t get across, then I’m going to bet that they will try to make their point clearer.” Charlie ran his hand along his chin and groaned. “This is such a tough situation.”
“You know what I really need?” Brenda stood up from the couch.
“What’s that?” He stood up as well.
“A hug from Sophie, and the rest of the day with my two favorite people. I’ll make us a snack.” Brenda headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll go get Sophie. Be right back.” Charlie stepped out through the front door.
As Brenda put together a platter of crackers, cheese, and green grapes for them all to share, for just a second everything that happened disappeared from her mind. When she heard the door shut, it all came rushing back. Yes, she’d heard the car squeal away. If she could remember all of that, why couldn’t she remember the things that mattered? The car? The plate? Anything? She closed her eyes and summoned back those few moments that changed everything. When she opened her eyes again, the sweetest smile greeted her.
“Hi, Mommy!” Sophie flung her arms around her waist.
“Hi, my sw
eet Sophie.” Brenda swept her up into her arms and smothered her cheeks in kisses. “How about a snack and a board game?”
“Yes!” Sophie giggled. The pure joy in her eyes reminded Brenda that although everything might seem pretty dismal, she had plenty to be happy about.
Joyce sat on the edge of her undisturbed bed. She didn’t even bother pulling the covers back. She knew that the moment she closed her eyes all that she would think about was Alexa. She’d tried a cup of warm milk and turning on a show that always made her sleepy, but that wasn’t enough to even get a doze out of her. Instead, she realized that she could try to get to sleep all night, or she could put her time to use. She’d tried looking through Alexa’s website earlier in the day, but hadn’t found much. Maybe she’d missed something.
Joyce grabbed her laptop and set it up on the small, wooden desk in her bedroom. Briefly, her mind flashed back to all of the times she’d sit at that desk with her husband. Sometimes they would spread out on the kitchen table, but most of the time they would share the small desk, shoulder to shoulder, while they tried to get to the bottom of one of his cases. Now, it seemed as if there was so much space. The thought made her heart ache for a few seconds before she focused on the computer screen. Davey always told her, if you want to understand the crime, you have to get to know your victim. Nine times out of ten, the truth could be found in the history or lifestyle of the person who was killed. “Death reveals all of the secrets we thought we kept so well.”
Joyce could hear his voice float through the room. She couldn’t help but wonder what secrets might be revealed in her own death. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that. She needed to focus on the website. It was a direct link to Alexa, her thoughts, her beliefs, and perhaps some of her history. She scrolled through some of the videos, looking for one in particular that she wanted to watch again.
It was Alexa’s video about Vanessa’s Veggies and what Vanessa might be hiding. The way she ended the video made her think that Alexa knew something very juicy about Vanessa. But was that just her way of reeling her viewers in? She decided to re-watch it. As the video played she noticed the gleam in Alexa’s eyes. She didn’t think that was something that the woman could fake. It seemed to her that she definitely had some dirt on Vanessa. However, the video didn’t reveal anything more than that. She closed the video, then began to look through some of the other videos on the site.
Joyce chose the video that showed some of the protests from the day before. With a few clicks she was able to enlarge the video. She wanted to try and lip read.
As Joyce watched the video, she was able to pick up on a few conversations. But since most of the protesters were moving, and the video panned in different directions it was hard to get more than a snippet here and there. After watching the video a few times, she looked for another video she had watched earlier. It was about Garring Farm, a dairy farm. After several minutes of searching, she found that it was no longer on the site. Annoyed, she scrolled through a few more of the videos, only to find that some others had gone missing as well, including the video that reviewed Donuts on the Move. She sat back in her chair and considered how this might happen. Alexa was already dead when they watched the videos earlier. It’s not like she could be deleting them from beyond the grave. So, how were the videos disappearing? Joyce typed out a brief email to Melissa. Perhaps since she was familiar with the site, and Alexa’s vlogs, she would have an idea of why it was happening.
Once Joyce had sent it, she refocused on Alexa’s social media. She wasn’t up to date on all of the latest trends when it came to the internet or apps, but she knew enough to find a little information on Alexa. From what she could tell, she was no stranger to bad reviews. On several of her sites, there were pages of negative comments, both from restaurants she had reviewed, and people she had upset in other ways. As she read through the assortment of comments, the night slipped away from her. By the time she looked at the clock again it was nearly dawn.
Still not tired, but certainly restless, she picked up her phone. There was only one person she knew that would be up this early. As the phone rang, she hoped that Brenda would be as eager as her to find out what happened to Alexa.
“Hello?” Brenda’s voice sounded garbled as she spoke.
“Brenda? Are you sleeping?”
“I was, yes.” Brenda coughed and her voice became a bit clearer. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I just assumed you would be up. You should go back to sleep.”
“I’m up, now.” Brenda laughed some, then coughed again. “What did you need?”
“I was thinking it might be a good idea to look at the parking lot again. I’m sure that the police did a thorough search, but it couldn’t hurt to take another look, could it?” Joyce frowned as a wave of guilt for waking Brenda up washed over her. Perhaps she should have just gone to look at the parking lot alone.
“Sure, that sounds like a good idea, actually. As quickly as that car moved, I’m sure that something had to be left behind. I only wish that I could remember more.”
“Perhaps just being there again will jog your memory. You never know. I will meet you there, in say, about thirty minutes?” Joyce glanced at the clock. “It would have been around the same time the body was dumped. The sun should be coming up shortly after.”
“Sure, that sounds fine, I’ll be there.”
As soon as Brenda hung up the phone, Joyce wondered if she asked too much of her friend. What she’d experienced was upsetting, and putting her back in that same location might be a bad idea. But she knew Brenda well enough to know that if she didn’t feel comfortable, she would say something. Brenda would want to try and help solve the crime. They were very similar that way.
After Joyce fed Molly, she made a cup of coffee. The house was quiet, as always. She turned on the small radio that she kept on the kitchen table. The music kept her company when she needed it. As a familiar song played, she thought about the years that had passed in her life. She didn’t feel as if she was in her sixties. She still felt like the young woman that had marched in protests, and proclaimed with determination that she would never marry. And yet, life had taken her in a very different direction. She could only imagine where Alexa expected her life to take her. Perhaps, there were some clues in those expectations. She seemed to be very dedicated to having a media presence, informing her audience about what was contained in the food they ate, and to promoting food that didn’t contain harsh chemicals. Maybe, her death was somehow linked with that passion. Could it have been someone seeking revenge for one of her protests, or perhaps someone who thought she wasn’t doing enough to promote organic food? She had eaten the non-organic donuts from the truck, so she wasn’t strict.
If this wasn’t solved soon, Joyce knew it would be important to expand the search to her friends and family. Unfortunately, with her not being local, that would be difficult. But she did have quite a crowd of followers, and as long as they were still in town they might be able to discover something. She drove towards the town square, and hoped that they would stumble over a clue.
Chapter 7
Brenda parked at the edge of the parking lot. There wasn’t another car in sight. However, to her, the parking lot was full of all of the memories from the day before. In reality, it was completely empty. Not a piece of paper, or a crumpled-up cup. The police had been quite thorough. She stepped out of the car and began to walk along the perimeter. She had almost made it to the entrance of the town square, before she’d heard the sound behind her that made her turn around. She walked to the same position, facing the town square. As she took a deep breath, she tried to visualize the exact events that unfolded. If anything was going to jog her memory, it would be that. As she took another breath, the sound of a car behind her made her gasp. She spun around, and the headlights of the car nearly blinded her.
“Brenda, are you okay?” The lights shut off as Joyce stepped out of the car. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.�
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“The lights.” She stared at the now unlit headlights.
“I know, sorry.” Joyce touched her friend’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“No, I mean, there were no lights. On the car, when it drove away. The taillights weren’t on.” Brenda rubbed her eyes, then looked at Joyce. “Why wouldn’t there have been lights?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t want to draw attention to the car? Maybe they were broken?” She studied her friend with a frown. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“It’s something right? At least I remembered something.” Brenda rubbed her hands together, then looked over the parking lot. “There’s nothing left here to find.”
“Maybe not, but I think we should take a look anyway. Just a second, I’ve got a text from Melissa.” Joyce scrolled through the message, then raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to give her a quick call, I’ll be right here.”
“Okay.” Brenda nodded, then wandered off to look through the parking lot.
Joyce dialed Melissa’s number. She watched her friend walk across the parking lot as the phone rang.
“I thought you might call.” Melissa’s tense voice echoed in Joyce’s ear.
“Can you please explain this all to me? I don’t quite understand.” Joyce shifted her attention to Melissa’s words.
“I took a look at the website. Sometimes vloggers have expiration dates on their videos, they’re automatically deleted to keep the content on the site fresh. But that isn’t what happened here. Whoever took down those videos, had access to the site. And a few have been removed overnight and this morning. So, clearly it couldn’t have been Alexa doing it.”
“What would someone need to be able to do that?” Joyce frowned. “I’m not that up to speed with tech.”