The Body in the Apartment

by Judi Lynn

  “How much trouble?” Walker asked.

  “He ended up going to prison for sneaking a gang into a warehouse he worked at. He helped them load refrigerators into a truck to sell somewhere.”

  Walker stared. “And he didn’t think he’d get caught?”

  Didi rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say Ronnie was smart. He was as gullible as they came, and one of the guys talked him into it. I tried to tell Gil that watching over Ronnie was only going to get him in trouble, but he felt responsible somehow. He always chose them over me. Made me feel pretty undesirable.”

  Walker snorted. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

  Didi blushed, but looked pleased. She took a deep breath, “Eventually Ronnie decided to help some friends rob a drug store. Gil went along to drive the getaway car and get Ronnie away from there as fast as possible. They all got caught.”

  “And then you divorced him?” Ansel asked.

  “I was tired of playing second fiddle and I didn’t ever see that changing, but it really bothered me when a cop showed up on my door and told me that Gil was murdered in prison. They suspected his cellmate, Gavin, but could never prove it.”

  An idea popped into Jazzi’s head. “Is Gavin out of prison now?”

  “I don’t know. I lost track of all of them. I wanted them behind me.”

  Jazzi made a mental note to share what she’d just heard with Gaff tomorrow. Silence hung in the air for a minute until Jazzi rubbed her hands together. “Let’s start cooking.”

  The women stayed in the kitchen and the men grabbed seconds of everything and disappeared into the living room.

  They started with the cookies since those would take the longest to bake. Gran was a huge fan of chocolate crinkles. Jazzi took the dough out of the freezer for them to roll into balls and dip in powdered sugar. That guaranteed cookies to chomp on in half an hour or less. The recipe made five dozen, so she could let people eat the first batch or two.

  While those were in the first set of ovens, they started making the dough for both the snickerdoodles and wedding cake cookies—her favorites with all of their chopped pecans. With the two wall ovens still available, she could bake a lot of cookies at the same time, and they could go a lot faster than in her old apartment.

  The minute the first sheet of chocolate crinkles came out of the oven and cooled slightly, Gran snitched one and handed it off to River.

  “Do you mind if he eats cookies this late at night?” Jazzi asked Didi.

  “Who can say no to warm cookies?” Didi reached for one, too, and the men all came in to wipe out another sheet.

  Jazzi raised an eyebrow at Gran when she put her hand behind her back to sneak River one of the snickerdoodles when that sheet came out of the oven. “Gran! He’s going to get sick, and I need forty cookies to make up my gift trays.”

  She should have known. The minute the number left her lips, Ansel and Gran started counting to put forty of each in dishes to put aside. The remainder on the counter tops were fair game. The counting must have made Gran thirsty, because she went to the fridge to pour herself another glass of red wine and sneak River one of the wedding cake cookies. He wrinkled his nose at that one, not one of his favorites. Most kids that Jazzi had met, especially Jerod and Franny’s, went for the super sweet goodies.

  While the rest of them sorted cookies, Jazzi put three heavy pots on the stove burners to make three batches of brittle. “I usually make pecan, but I have cashews and peanuts, too, so we can make a pot of each.”

  She attached three candy thermometers to the pots and started instructing people on what to do as she went. After the ingredients were ready to reach 310 degrees on the thermometers, Didi said, “Did I tell you guys that I was having a security system installed at my house so I can return sometime?”

  Walker’s hand froze in midair as he reached for a cookie. “When?”

  “Sometime next week, that’s as soon as the company could work me in.”

  He frowned. “I still don’t like it. If the guy breaks in while you’re there, it could take fifteen minutes before anyone reaches you. A lot can happen in fifteen minutes. Why not just stay at my place until you know who’s ransacking your house?”

  River ran to stand beside Walker, nodding vehemently. Walker had made a true fan.

  Didi bit her bottom lip. “Okay, I didn’t think of that. You’re right.”

  River turned to Walker and raised his hand for a high five.

  Didi glanced at the candy thermometer and said, “Oops, it’s up to temp.”

  They each dropped in one cup of cold butter and stirred until the temperature reached 290 degrees. Then they removed the pots from the heat to stir in the salt, baking soda, vanilla and nuts before quickly spreading the brittle onto greased, rimmed cookie sheets.

  Didi’s grin almost rivaled River’s. “I just made candy, didn’t I?”

  Gran laughed. “Sure did, hon. And Walker’s right. Don’t go home. You don’t want to be there when Gil’s prison mate comes again.”

  Didi hugged her arms. “Gavin?”

  Gran frowned, concentrating, then shrugged. “Can’t tell. But he sure disliked your ex-husband. Not sure he likes most anybody, though. A lot of negative, nasty energy surrounds him.”

  Walker came over to wrap an arm around Didi’s waist. “That’s settled it then. You stay with me until this guy’s behind bars again.”

  Chapter 9

  Jazzi’s cell phone rang at three a.m. She fought to rouse herself enough to reach for it.

  Squinting at the caller ID, she told Ansel, “Jerod.” She tried to sound awake. “Are you and Franny at the hospital this soon? Gran said the baby would come at three this afternoon.”

  “She called last night to say she got the message—a.m., not p.m. And Franny and the baby are perfect!” Jerod’s voice boomed into her ear. “Ten fingers and ten toes. Lots of blond hair and blue eyes. Franny saw him and thought of Peter and the Wolf. We named him Pete.”

  She huffed out a breath. “We? I don’t think so. Franny named him Peter, but you’ll never call him that.”

  Jerod laughed. “You gotta come see him. Don’t let Ansel hold him, though, or he’ll want one of his own.”

  She glanced at her Norseman. He was already sitting on the edge of the bed, scratching his head—naked from the waist up, ready to get dressed and go. She’d never get tired of the sight. Jerod might be right, though. Ansel wanted kids sooner rather than later. She preferred to wait. They’d had that discussion. He’d agreed to give her a few years.

  “Viking boy’s getting dressed now. We’ll be there soon.”

  “Hurry. Mom and Dad are already on their way. You know my mom. If Ansel wants a turn with him, he’ll have to beat her to it. Franny’s parents are coming, too.”

  Their family was like that. People showed up for every big event. And there was no bigger draw than a wedding or a baby.

  Franny had birthed at the hospital on the southwest side of the city, so it took them a while to get there. And true to Jerod’s words, his mom was already cradling Peter in her arms. She tore her gaze away from the baby when they entered the room and smiled. “Jerod said I have to share. Would you like to hold him?”

  Ansel shot out his arms and snuggled the baby close. A lump caught in Jazzi’s throat as she watched her blond giant cuddle little Peter. His whole expression turned mushy, totally enthralled by the infant. What would he be like if he were holding his own son? He crooned to the baby in a soft voice. “I’m your Uncle Ansel, and we’re going to have lots of good times together.”

  Finally, Jerod cleared his throat, saying, “Jazzi might want to hold him, too.”

  Did she? She’d oohed and aahed over Gunther and Lizzie when they were born, but she’d been single. A baby of her own didn’t tempt her. Ansel lowered Peter into her arms, and a warm, deep yearning flooded her bod
y. No, no, no. This wasn’t the right time. She didn’t want to rush into parenthood. But when Franny’s parents showed up with Gunther and Lizzie, she had a hard time passing the baby to Franny’s mother.

  Gunther tugged on her arm. “I’m a big brother now. I’m going to help Mom take care of our baby.”

  Jazzi smiled at the word our. Jerod sure had neat kids. Thane and Olivia trickled into the room next, and Thane couldn’t wait to take his turn with Peter. When he offered him to Olivia, she raised an eyebrow and said, “I’ll pass. Let Eleanore hold him again.”

  Jerod’s mom didn’t need a second invitation. She cuddled the baby close.

  They stayed another half hour before Franny started looking tired, and then they took their leave. “Cute baby,” Ansel said, driving home.

  “Blond hair. Where did that come from?” She, Mom, and Olivia were all blondes, but she couldn’t think of anyone on Jerod’s side of the family with that coloring.

  “Has to be Franny’s side,” Ansel said. “We haven’t met them all, have we? He got married before I started working with you.”

  “I know Franny has three sisters, but I don’t remember much about them.” Had any of them had freckles and carrot orange hair like Franny? She didn’t have a clue.

  At home, they crawled back in bed until the alarm went off at six thirty. They dragged through their morning routine, but by the time Bain stalked into the kitchen, they were ready to go.

  He was dressed, too. “I’ll do my best to help out. I’m no contractor, but I can help with any lifting or pounding. I’m going crazy hanging around here, doing nothing.”

  Ansel glanced at Jazzi. “You still okay with that?”

  She nodded. “We’ll be short Jerod today. We can use an extra hand.”

  That made it just Ansel, Jazzi, and Bain at the old Victorian today, with George supervising from his dog bed in the corner. Ansel showed Bain how to tape the drywall seams and they all got to work.

  “Did you hear us leave the house this morning?” Ansel asked his brother. “Jerod’s wife had her baby, a little boy.”

  Bain grunted a reply. Clearly, babies didn’t excite him. “Jerod had better learn how to use birth control. He makes good money, but he’s not rich, and kids are expensive.”

  Ansel’s blond brows pulled together as he studied him. “You’re thirty-four, nine years older than I am. Do you ever plan on getting married and having kids?”

  “What for? I hardly have any free time, as is.”

  Ansel just looked at him and shook his head. Bain worked on taping the long, side wall while she and Ansel started on the next one. When Ansel’s cell phone buzzed, he frowned at the ID. “Didi.”

  Jazzi didn’t make any bones about listening to his side of the conversation, especially since it worried her. “You went there alone?” And then, “No, don’t call Walker if he’s out of town. I’ll send Jazzi to meet you.”

  When he shut off his phone, he pressed his lips together in a tight line. “Walker’s in Columbia City, making estimates on a new cement job for spring. Didi decided to go to her house after she dropped River at school, and she found it trashed. The guy’s long gone, so she’s not worried about him coming back, but she’s pretty shaken up. She wants to sort through a few things but doesn’t want to stay there alone.”

  Jazzi nodded. “I’m on my way. Do you think I should call Gaff and see if he can meet us there?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt. Somebody’s looking for something, and it didn’t sound like he’d found it.”

  Jazzi grabbed her coat and started for the door. “I’m taking the van, so you guys are stuck here until I get back. I’ll make sure I’m here by five.”

  Ansel shrugged broad shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. We have plenty to keep us busy if you’re a little late.”

  Bain shook his head. “I don’t get you two. You don’t have to go out of your way for Didi. If I understand it right, you’re not even River’s dad and you never met this woman until your one-night-stand partner died. It was one night, Ansel, and she came on to you instead of the other way around. You don’t owe the dead woman anything either.”

  Ansel stared at him, clearly annoyed. “I know I don’t owe either of the women anything, but that doesn’t mean Didi doesn’t need help. And I can still care about what happens to her.”

  Bain sniffed. “You’ve turned into a bleeding heart, that’s what. You’ve got it too easy up here, so you think you can be Mr. Do Good.”

  “No.” Ansel glared. “That happened when I went home to help you and Dad on the farm when you got yourselves in a bind. I didn’t owe either of you anything either.”

  Bain’s face turned mottled red, but he tamped down his temper. “Let’s get back to work.”

  Jazzi grimaced. Another unpleasant exchange. Did Bain think of anyone besides his dad, himself, and the farm? She wondered if Bain ever missed Radley’s company, or if he only missed the work he’d done. She stood on tiptoe to kiss Ansel’s cheek as she went out the door. She was proud of her man. On the drive to Didi’s house, she called Gaff and explained what had happened.

  “I’ll get there as soon as I can. I suppose Didi has already touched everything that was disturbed, but I’ll send a fingerprint person anyway.”

  “Okay, see you later.” When she parked at the curb and walked to Didi’s narrow two-story, it took a minute before Didi unlocked the screen door.

  “Sorry, I was hiding in the kitchen in case whoever did this came back and I had to make a break for it. This spooked me out.” She wore old jeans and a flannel shirt today. Her black hair was scraped back in a knot. “Look at it. It’s a mess.”

  The front door was kicked in and the house ransacked. The couch and chairs were slashed, every drawer spilled, and the kitchen cupboards open with their contents scattered across the floor. Some floorboards were even pried up.

  Jazzi stared. “What do you think he was looking for?”

  Didi sagged onto a wooden rocking chair and shook her head. “My house doesn’t exactly scream money. Does this look like some place valuables would be hidden?”

  “Sorry, but no. It does make me think of Donovan’s apartment, though. His place was trashed like this, too.”

  Looking around, dazed, Didi said, “I don’t see any way that Donovan or I would be connected.”

  Neither did she, but it was too much of a coincidence. “Can I help you with anything while we wait for Gaff?”

  “I was going to gather up the rest of River’s and my cold weather clothes, and I meant to take all of the groceries in the freezer and veggie drawer to Walker’s place. I didn’t want them to go to waste.” She let out a long breath. The refrigerator doors hung open. “I suppose everything’s ruined by now.”

  “I’m sorry. Want me to help you throw them away? Then we can bag up your clothes.”

  They were filling the trash can in the kitchen with defrosted chicken breasts and wilted lettuce when Gaff walked in. He glanced around the house and grimaced.

  “Someone sure was thorough. Did Gil leave anything here when you two got your divorce?”

  “No, and if he would have, he’d have come for it. We had a friendly separation. I didn’t want anything from him, and he didn’t ask me for anything either.”

  Jazzi motionied toward the loose floorboards, saying, “Do you think it’s just a fluke that two places have been broken into and searched, or are they connected somehow?”

  “Let’s find out.” He asked Didi to make a list of Gil’s old friends, especially the ones who went to prison with him.

  She sat at her empty work desk and wrote down names. When she handed them to Gaff, he skimmed them. “I’ll look these guys up to see where they are and what they’re doing now. If they’re in town, I’ll stop in to visit them. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  A knock sounded at the door, and
Ben, one of the crime scene techs, came to join Gaff. He nodded when he saw Jazzi and shook his head. “You’re involved in another one?”

  “Unfair. Ansel and I know Didi, that’s all.”

  He grinned. “Well, you know better than to touch a lot of stuff, so maybe I’ll get lucky with fingerprints.”

  She sure hoped so. And if someone who’d served time in prison with Gil did this, she was sure his fingerprints would be in the system.

  “Mind if I bag up the rest of my winter clothes to take to Walker’s house?” Didi asked.

  Gaff looked surprised. “You’re still staying there?”

  “He hasn’t kicked me out yet, and he doesn’t want me to come back here until whoever’s breaking in is caught.”

  Gaff nodded. “Can’t blame him for that. He’s a good guy. Get your clothes, and we’ll get busy. I’ll let you know if anything turns up.”

  Jazzi went with her to help, and then they both parted at their vehicles. Didi drove back to Walker’s place, and Jazzi returned to Ansel and Bain at the Victorian.

  Chapter 10

  When Jazzi walked into their fixer-upper, she blinked, surprised. Ansel and Bain had taped every seam and were working on mudding them. George wagged his tail when she went to toss her coat on the stair railing, so she bent to pet him.

  “We’ve got this,” Ansel told her. “Bain and I are a good team. What if we take a coffee break, you tell us about Didi, and then you can rip off woodwork in the bedrooms upstairs while we work down here?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She went to the kitchen and poured three mugs of coffee while the guys washed up in the bathroom upstairs. Everything on the ground floor was gutted—no sink.

  They sat in folding chairs around the card table they’d brought, and she passed out sandwiches.