by Cindy Bell
“All they need is her password, to have access to her site. But as a popular vlogger I’m sure she was very careful about who had it. It’s possible if she had anyone helping her manage the site, there could be one or even two other people that have her password.” Melissa took a sharp breath. “Wow, one was just deleted a second ago. It’s strange, the person isn’t wiping the whole site, just random videos.”
“Maybe they’re not as random as we think.” Joyce narrowed her eyes. “Thanks for the information, Melissa.”
“Sure, no problem.”
As Joyce hung up the phone, Brenda walked back over to her.
“I’m sorry, Joyce, I didn’t find anything. The only thing I remembered were the taillights being out.” Brenda sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to help much.”
“It might, you never know.” Joyce filled her in on the information Melissa gave her. “I’m going to give Detective Crackle a call. He needs to know about the videos, if someone is deleting them on purpose, that means they have access to her account. What do you think that person is trying to hide?” She frowned as she dialed the detective’s number.
“I don’t know. Was the video of her being abducted deleted?” Brenda pulled out her phone to check for herself.
“I’m not sure.” Joyce kept her phone to her ear. After a few rings, Detective Crackle answered.
“Joyce, I was planning to call you.”
“I saved you the trouble.” Joyce crossed one arm over her stomach and turned away from Brenda as a touch of heat tingled through her cheeks. “Listen, we have reason to believe that there is someone accessing Alexa’s website and deleting her vlogs.”
“Are you certain about that?” His tone shifted from amiable to sharp.
“Yes. Apparently, some of the vloggers set their videos to automatically delete after a certain amount of time, but the videos being deleted are random. So, it isn’t being done automatically. Someone must have access to the site, and whoever does, is deleting these videos. I don’t know why, but I’m certain there is a reason.” Joyce glanced back at Brenda.
“The video of her abduction is still there.” Brenda met her eyes. “Why would the killer skip over that one?”
Joyce relayed the information to Detective Crackle.
“I’ll have someone look into it right away. Anything else?” Detective Crackle paused.
“Brenda did recall that there were no taillights on when the car drove away. I’m not sure what that might lead to, but every detail counts, right?” She gave Brenda a brief wink.
“Right. Thanks for the information. I guess it would only be fair for me to share an update with you.” Detective Crackle cleared his throat. “We’ve taken Vanessa into custody.”
“Vanessa?” Joyce stammered the name. “But why? She couldn’t have done this.”
“The video on the website points to her as a suspect, and she doesn’t have a solid alibi. Right now, we’re just questioning her. Tell Brenda I said thanks for the information.” Detective Crackle hung up the phone before she could say another word.
As Joyce tucked her phone into her purse, she turned to face Brenda.
“They’ve taken Vanessa in for questioning. Can you believe that? This is why I can’t just let Detective Crackle investigate this crime. I mean, who in their right mind would ever suspect Vanessa?” Joyce threw her hands into the air. “The man is clueless.”
“It is the only lead they have, and we don’t have much more to offer.” Brenda tucked her phone back into her pocket. “I just wish I had seen something more useful.”
“You did see something useful, Brenda. Don’t be down on yourself about that. You saw everything that was there to see. It’s not your fault the car looked too common to narrow down what car it might have been. Detective Crackle said to thank you for the information. Look, I don’t think we’re going to discover much more by standing here. Why don’t we grab some breakfast from the coffee shop? I think it would do us both some good to have something in our stomachs.”
“Yes, you’re probably right. I haven’t been hungry since all of this happened, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need to eat.” Brenda gritted her teeth. “No matter what, I’m sure that I’m going to need my strength.”
“Yes, you will, we both will.” Joyce started walking towards their cars.
“It’s so quiet here when nothing is happening.” Brenda passed a glance back over her shoulder. “It’s hard to believe that it was such a busy place only a short time ago.”
“I wonder how long it will be before the next event takes place. Now that the police have wrapped up the crime scene, I suppose it’s just a matter of time.” Joyce reached her car and opened the door.
“It’ll be strange when they do have the next event. But people do tend to forget pretty easily.” Brenda opened her car door, then met Joyce’s eyes. “At least they will if the murder is solved. If not, then it may take a little longer.”
“Oh, it’s going to be solved.” Joyce raised an eyebrow. “I intend to make sure of that.”
Brenda couldn’t help but smile to herself as she settled in the driver’s seat. Joyce had a way of making her feel as if she could accomplish anything. It was that grit and determination that had finally convinced her to take the leap and work with Joyce in the food truck. She always felt braver around Joyce, who had become one of her closest friends. She was like family. Still, it was hard for her to believe that they could really figure out what happened to Alexa. If the police had so little to go on, then what leads did they have a chance of finding?
Joyce waited for Brenda at the front door of the coffee shop. The morning sun had faded some behind thick clouds. It was a gray morning, which seemed appropriate. When Brenda pulled into the parking lot Joyce waved to her, then held the door open for her.
“Some food for our brains will help us to figure all of this out.”
“I hope so. On the way over I’ve been playing with the idea of Vanessa being involved. She was there when Alexa was left in the parking lot, so if it was her, she must have had an accomplice.” Brenda sat down at an empty table, barely aware of the crowded coffee shop around her.
“It couldn’t possibly be Vanessa.” Joyce shook her head as she sat down across from Brenda. “She’d never hurt a fly. In fact, I remember seeing her one day shooing a fly out of her truck. I offered her some fly paper, and she was horrified by the idea. She said all you have to do is talk to the fly, and they understand, eventually.” She smiled as her gaze grew distant. “I found it a little strange then, but now I realize it just proves that she could never hurt Alexa.”
“But that video could be pretty damning evidence.” Brenda nodded to the waitress as she walked over. “I’ll have a coffee please, with cream.”
“Tea for me, thanks.” Joyce grimaced. “I’ve been up all night, I really shouldn’t have any more coffee.”
“Oh, Joyce you didn’t tell me that.” Brenda frowned and placed one hand over hers. “That’s not good for your health, you know?”
“I’m in my sixties, Brenda, not my grave.” She smiled and pulled her hand back. “I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Alexa, and who might have done this to her. And, if I’m being honest, Davey.”
“Do you miss discussing cases with him?”
“Yes, and everything else about him. He would always tease me about how determined I would get over his cases. I wouldn’t let him rest.” A smile crept across her lips. “I would drive the poor man crazy. But the truth is, the moment I let up, he would show that he was just as determined.”
“I bet he loved every minute.” Brenda took her friend’s hand again, and this time, Joyce didn’t pull back from her touch. “You know if you ever can’t sleep, you can always call me.”
“Thanks, Brenda. You’re such a good friend to me.” She gave her hand a light squeeze. “But enough about that. What we need to figure out is, who did this?”
“I doubt it was Vanessa. She just
doesn’t seem like a killer. Yes, that video looked incriminating, but we still don’t even know what Alexa had on her. Maybe it was nothing.” Brenda shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense that it could be her.”
“No, it doesn’t. Who else was in the parking lot? Didn’t you say Kevin was there, too?” Joyce accepted her cup of tea from the waitress. “Thank you.”
“Oh, one more cream, please.” Brenda smiled as she took her cup of coffee. Then she looked back across the table at Joyce. “Sure, Kevin was there. And he has quite a temper. I don’t think we can rule him out, that’s for sure. There was a man that I don’t think I’ve seen before. But things happened so fast, I could be wrong. I wasn’t exactly looking at the other people.”
“Yes, Kevin certainly does have a temper. Would he really have been angry enough to kill, though? Even though he has a temper he didn’t go after Detective Crackle. He didn’t snap and throw a punch.” Joyce tipped her head from side to side. “I suppose it’s possible, though. I did interrupt before things could get too out of hand.”
“You interrupted an argument between Detective Crackle and Kevin?” Brenda raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem wise.”
“Detective Crackle seemed to agree with that.” Joyce winced. “But it felt like a good idea at the time. The point is, I wasn’t afraid of Kevin. I would think if he was a killer, I would have been a little afraid.”
“It’s not easy to spot a killer.” Brenda frowned. “I think Kevin is still a possibility, but he would need an accomplice as well. When we find out who is deleting the videos, that will give us more of a direction to look in. Until then, I think we need to consider that we simply have no leads.” Brenda sighed. “Not any that are actually leading anywhere, anyway.”
“Maybe.” Joyce put a finger to her lips as she looked in the direction of a table not far from them. It was crowded with faces she recognized from the town square. After a second she realized they had been part of the protest. The coffee shop was a little noisy, but she could hear some of their conversation, and with her lip reading skills she was able to pick up on bits and pieces.
“What about Alexa?” the young woman spoke. “Someone killed her!”
“So what?” the young man said. “Alexa was a hypocrite. We all know it. So she’s dead, we need new leadership, better leadership. At least my vlogs are hard-hitting.”
“How can you be so cold about it?” the first woman said. She took a breath, then nodded. “Mark, we are devastated.”
“It doesn’t matter, we need to move on,” Mark said sternly. “We need to focus on the next protest. We need a voice that’s genuine, not a voice that can be bought and sold!”
“Let’s at least bury Alexa first.” The young woman cringed.
“Enough!” Mark shouted at her. Brenda turned suddenly in his direction. She recognized him in that moment, as one of the protestors. He began to speak in a softer tone.
“What is he saying? Can you tell?” Brenda leaned closer to Joyce. “He was one of the protestors, and I saw him at the truck with that girl who refused to buy our donuts because they weren’t organic.”
“I think I also recognize him from when Alexa was filming,” Joyce said. “He was with her when she got the donuts from you.”
“Really, I didn’t notice.”
“You wouldn’t have, you were focusing on the camera.” Joyce smiled. “He was in a group of people standing behind Alexa.”
“Which means they might know something.” Brenda focused in on Mark. “We need to find out what that is.”
“Yes, we do, and it looks like they’re getting their check. I guess we’re going to have to skip breakfast.” Joyce took the last swallow of her tea.
“I wasn’t hungry anyway.” Brenda pushed aside her coffee mug and left enough cash on the table to cover the bill and a tip.
Mark stood up from the table, his shoulders tight.
“I have somewhere to be.” He tossed a wadded up bill on the table, then turned and headed for the door. As the others remained at the table, Brenda led Joyce after Mark and right out into the parking lot. He rounded the corner of the building and headed into the rear lot. Brenda and Joyce matched his pace, though a few steps behind.
“What is the plan here?” Joyce grabbed Brenda’s shoulder before she could get too far ahead of her. “It’s not like he’s just going to spill his guts.”
“I don’t know, he seemed to have a lot to say in the coffee shop. He seems to like an audience. Maybe he’ll be willing to talk.” Brenda kept her gaze locked on him as he headed for his car.
“You’re right. I also recognize him from the videos of the protest. I bet he knows who threw the first punch that got everything stirred up. He definitely has a temper. We need to be careful.” Joyce stepped ahead of Brenda. “And we need to catch him before he gets in his car.”
Brenda chased after her, determined not to let her friend get out of reach. Just as Mark opened the door to his car, he spun around to face them both.
“What are you two doing following me?”
Chapter 8
A chill bolted up Brenda’s spine as she looked straight into Mark’s cold blue eyes. She hadn’t expected him to confront them, but if she was honest with herself, they hadn’t been very careful as they followed him.
“Mark, right?” Joyce stepped in front of Brenda and smiled. She could guess from his smooth skin, that he had yet to hit his thirties. The young man shifted his attention to her, and she faced the harshness of his expression.
“How do you know my name? What do you want?” Mark slammed the door of his car shut. “You don’t have any business following me around.”
“I’m so sorry.” Joyce waved her hand in front of her face and sighed. “It’s just that we’re such big fans of your work, and we wanted a minute to speak with you, but my friend here, she’s so shy.” She glanced over at Brenda. “Isn’t that right? She didn’t want to bother you. But I told her, you wouldn’t mind, because we all share the same passion, right?”
“What are you talking about?” Mark frowned, but his gaze softened some.
“We’ve seen your videos,” Brenda stumbled over her words. It wasn’t hard for her to play shy, she was already quite nervous. “We’re so glad that someone finally has the courage to speak the truth.”
“Instead of selling out.” Joyce rolled her eyes. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written out checks to people who claim to fight for our right to eat clean food, only to find out later that they’re just putting on a show for the cameras. I mean, how can anyone be so duplicitous?”
“You’ve seen my videos.” He smiled some. “They don’t get as many views as others. People don’t like it when you don’t sugarcoat the truth.”
“We do.” Brenda nodded. “Real change can’t happen if you don’t tell the actual truth.”
“Absolutely.” Joyce grinned. “I’m sorry, I’m a little starstruck. Do you have just a few minutes to talk with us? Oh, we’d love to hear where the next protest will be. We missed this last one, and I can’t tell you how much I regret it!”
“I made us miss it.” Brenda lowered her eyes as her shoulders slumped. “I thought it was going to be the day after. I don’t know how I got so mixed up.”
“It’s all right. That protest wasn’t planned. Well, it was, but it was just a publicity stunt for Alexa. She didn’t care about the issue, she just wanted to take advantage of all of the media being around. When I tried to speak some truth, things got a little tense. But that’s how real protests go. Sometimes things get a little messy. They turn into a scandal.”
“Oh wow, that must have been so exciting.” Joyce regarded him for a moment. “Honestly, I was a little surprised to discover that you were associated with Alexa Vue. She seemed a bit well, I’m not sure what the polite way to put it is.”
“Fake?” He nodded. “You’re right. I was planning to part ways with her, but clearly that won’t be necessary now. She was becoming more of an
obstacle than a help.”
“You must be a little relieved that she’s gone.” Brenda smiled a little. “It’s okay, you can tell us.”
“Relieved that she’s dead?” He looked between them, then shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. But I am glad that she’s no longer in the way. Now, maybe we can make some progress towards some real change. The next protest will be at the grand opening of Country Grocery Place, tomorrow. I expect to see you both there.”
“Country Grocery Place?” Brenda raised an eyebrow. “Is this about Marbary Produce Farm?”
“Yes, it is. Alexa was supposed to do a big exposé about the grocery chain, and the farm, but she decided against it at the last minute. My guess is she was paid off.” He rolled his eyes. “Just like so many others. But I’m not backing down. I’m going to make sure that they are exposed for all of the chemicals they are pouring into our food.” He reached up and scratched at his collar.
Joyce noticed a long scratch from the curve of his chin to the slope of his shoulder.
“Will it be dangerous?” She locked eyes with him.
“It may be.” Mark stared back into her eyes. “But if you’re afraid of danger, then you’re afraid of change.”
“We’ll be there.” Joyce smiled. “Thanks for all that you do, Mark. You’re a true hero.”
“Somebody has to be.” Mark jerked the door open to his light blue, four-door car and climbed in.
Brenda and Joyce stepped out of the way as he backed the car up, then pulled out of the parking lot.
“What an intense kid.” Joyce shook her head. “He’s so young to be so angry.”
“He has a cause.” Brenda crossed her arms. “But I’m not so sure it’s protecting our food.”
“What do you mean?” Joyce walked beside her as they started back towards the front parking lot.
“I mean it seems to me that he’s more interested in attention, and if that’s the case, then perhaps he had a big problem with Alexa having so much of it.” Brenda paused beside her car. “I think there’s a good chance that Mark wanted Alexa out of the picture.”