Just Buried

by Addison Moore

  “I’ll do my best to seduce him and see how far that gets me.”

  A lopsided grin lands on his face. “It will get you wherever you want to go. But you already knew that, didn’t you? Why do I get the feeling I’m being used because I hold the keys to the kingdom?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m using you for your good looks, too.” I hike up and dot a kiss to his lips. “There’s more where that came from.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  And I can’t wait to rifle my way through Julian Fletcher’s most prized notebooks.

  I have a feeling we’re inches away from the truth—and the killer.

  Chapter 15

  Jasper and I make a pit stop at the Seaview Sheriff’s Department first. Considering it’s just about the middle of the night, it strikes me as odd that the facility is fully operating as if it were the middle of the afternoon. But, considering the nature of the law-enforcing beast, that sounds about right.

  Once Jasper snatched up the keys to Julian’s place, we took off for Rose Glen, where Julian owned a two-story bungalow style home near the pier.

  “Snazzy,” I say as I shiver beside Jasper as he unlocks the door and lets us in. “Should we turn on our flashlights?”

  “No, we should do this.” He flicks on the lights and exposes the interior to be far more modern than the outside of this beach bungalow implied. The floors, walls, and furniture share the same bright white hue. There’s a giant fluffy rug that takes over the expansive living room that looks as if it’s made of sheepskin, and it makes me wonder how many sheep were sacrificed to piece that monster together.

  “Boy,” I muse, taking a look around. “He must have really been a good magician.”

  “Because he has a ritzy home?”

  “No,” I flatline. “Because he’s figured out how to make all the stains disappear. It’s impossible to live in a whiteout like this and not see a single coffee ring or even a drop of red wine.”

  Jasper’s cheek flickers. “Don’t forget the pizza stains and the glob of grease those Chinese takeout boxes leave.”

  “You’re speaking from experience, I take it?”

  “You’ve been to my place. You tell me.” He winks my way.

  “How about we scour Julian’s place so we can get to your place and I can reexamine the evidence?”

  “I like your midnight math.” Jasper takes me by the hand. “His office is in the back.”

  “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t your first rodeo in this pristine palace?”

  “Because you’re a great detective. I’ve been here six times. Granted, I wasn’t looking for notebooks.”

  “Six times? Why so many?”

  “Each time we did an in-depth search of one of the rooms in the house. Looking for unusual fingerprints, fibers, blood.”

  I suck in a quick breath. “You weren’t searching for Julian’s killer. Jasper, you think he’s responsible for those women’s disappearances, don’t you?”

  His lips press white. “He’s on the short list. But like I said, we weren’t able to prove anything. I thought maybe we’d find a trace of those girls here. Anything at all. But we didn’t so much as find a bobby pin, let alone anything significant.”

  “Did you look in his bedroom? Did you check his nightstand for cuffs and collars? How about the garage for an abundance of duct tape and body bags?”

  “Done, done, and done. He’s pretty sanitized as far as any of that goes. This place is like a museum. It made me wonder if it was a front for his real home. I’ve never seen anyone live so meticulously.”

  “He could have been a neat freak. It’s actually what I strive to be. But now that I’m marrying you, I suppose I’ll have to abandon the effort.”

  His eyes flit my way.

  “Kidding!” I say and we share a dull laugh.

  “We could always blame Sherlock and Fish.” He shakes his head as he makes the suggestion. “Or the kids.” His brows twitch. “All ten of them.”

  “Ten?” I laugh. “You’re really determined to have me live up to my name.”

  “You’ll never be alone in the effort.”

  I wrap my arms around him. “Sounds as if I’m marrying the right guy.”

  “That’s good news, considering the big day is moments away. And there’s not another woman on the planet I’d want to spend my days with.”

  “Camila will be sad to hear it.” I bite down on a laugh. “But I’m not.” I give his ribs a tweak. “While we’re here, let’s do a mental roundup of the suspects. I want this case closed long before we say I do.”

  “You and me both. Who’s up first?”

  “Michaela.” I shrug. “Like I mentioned on the ride over, Julian dragged her into the Collective. He was pressing her to tell her sister. And by the sound of it, that was one secret she’d rather take to the grave.”

  “And now he’s taken it to his.”

  I nod. “There’s Bernie.” I shake my head. “She was his lover. She didn’t even know she was the other woman until later in their relationship, according to Zeke, and she wanted nothing to do with him after his divorce. And then there’s Zeke.”

  Jasper takes a breath. “I spoke to him today. He pretty much affirmed that conversation you had with him. He hated the guy for what he did to Bernie. He had the motive to want Julian dead, and he was there at ground zero the night he died.”

  “He helped to set that glass ceiling over Julian’s watery grave. He could have easily manipulated those hinges.”

  “Agreed,” he says. “What about Archie? He was there, too.”

  “And he’s a fellow magician. Maybe he wanted Julian out of the way so he could move up in the entertainment ranks?”

  “Maybe.” Jasper gives the kitchen a quick once-over as we pass it. “But he’s not taking all of the voids Julian left in the roster down at the Magic Castle. When I asked him about it, he said his passion for landscaping is just as much alive. He has no interest in going full-time. But it might be a cover.”

  “I guess we won’t know until things have had a chance to simmer down. Archie knew a couple of the girls who disappeared, Anita and Embry. But then, so did Bernie. Honestly, I think Zeke is our strongest suspect at this point. His anger toward Julian was palpable.”

  “I agree. Let’s get to that office.” We head that way, and Jasper takes a cautious step into the room first. “All right,” he says, flicking on the light to a small room brimming with wall-to-wall dark mahogany bookcases. And each spine of those books boasts of magic. There must be hundreds of books on the art in here. His desk is lacquered black and has lion paws for feet. There’s a large crystal ball sitting on the corner of it, but other than that it’s barren. “Here we are.” Jasper pulls a couple of pairs of gloves out of his pocket, and we each put them on. “Have at it, Bizzy.”

  “So where do you think he would have these treasured journals?” I ask. “Michaela made it sound as if he poured all of his trade secrets into them.”

  “He’s a magician. He could be hiding them somewhere unique. Or perhaps in plain sight?”

  “You’re right,” I say, pulling random books off the shelf and opening them. “He’s a magician…” I take a step back, admiring the literary treasures in the room, and note the ceiling is painted a dark hue of purple. “He really broke faith with the rest of the house in here, didn’t he?”

  “Sure did,” Jasper says, pointing to a shelf above the window with a series of crystal awards on it. This is the only room in the house where Julian actually shines.”

  “Huh.” I note something odd in the bookshelf next to the door. “Look at the thickness in the wood here. It’s asymmetrical to the rest of the bookshelves.”

  Jasper steps in to examine it.

  “And this side is noticeably thinner.” He points to the right about three feet.

  “What do you think it means?” I ask, running my fingers along the thinner side of the bookcase, and no sooner do I apply a bit of pressure than the bookshelf itself
dips in and out before floating ajar on the right. “Ha! It’s a secret passage.”

  Jasper carefully opens a three foot section of the bookshelf like a door, and behind it sits a black wall with silver stars painted over it—but what makes me gasp is a tall, heavily carved wooden filing cabinet made to look like the neck and head of a dragon. Jasper flicks on the lights in this tiny space, and that enormous dragon’s head looks as if it’s about to lunge at us.

  I bury my head in Jasper’s chest a moment. “Oh, wow, it’s ugly.”

  “It’s a work of questionable art, all right,” he says, stepping inside. “It looks as if this is a closet of some sort.”

  He’s right. The entire space is about three feet wide by four feet deep.

  We make our way to the terrifying dragon’s head with its mouth open and forked tongued hanging out. It’s magnificently carved out of dark-stained wood, and the eyes look as if they’re made of cut rubies.

  “Go ahead.” He points to the carved silver handles that run down the filing cabinet. “Do the honors.”

  I pull open the first drawer, and inside we find stacks of memorabilia. Mostly event flyers like the ones they hand out at the door of the Magic Castle, and most of them are from that exact location. The second drawer is brimming with notebooks in every shape and size, and I can’t help but shed a victorious smile.

  “Bingo,” I say as we both begin to pore over the books. Inside the pages are tons of tricks Julian’s amassed and detailed instructions on how to pull them off, including tips on how to improve them.

  Jasper points to a star system that’s on the top of each page.

  “He’s giving them honest ratings. It seems Julian was determined to master his craft.”

  “He was one of the best, according to Archie,” I say.

  After nearly twenty minutes we’ve combed through each of the pages and found nothing other than the greatest secrets to every magic trick known to man.

  “You know what?” I close the drawer once again after we’ve shoved all the journals back inside. “I feel as if I just unwrapped all my presents before Christmas Day.”

  “Me too. But as long as I have you in my life, I still believe in magic.”

  “Aww,” I coo. “Come here, Detective. I’ve got a clue for you.”

  He leans in and I plant a wet one right over his lips.

  “Hey?” I pull back with a devious smile. “How about we make some magic happen right here in this secret compartment?”

  “It might make things interesting once forensics shows up tomorrow.”

  I make a face. “You’re right. I’d hate to leave any DNA evidence behind. Let’s check out this last drawer and split.” I slide it open, and a single file sits inside on its back with the letters TBM written boldly in black.

  “TBM,” I say as I pick up the thick file and peel it open. “Oh my God, Jasper.”

  “Bizzy,” he says my name breathless as pictures of familiar women tumble out of it. “These are no eight-by-ten glossy studio shots. These are candid pictures. These women are in thick crowds—completely oblivious to the camera.”

  “And he’s circled them.”

  The first is a picture of Anita Dolman laughing at the Magic Castle. She’s near the bar and speaking to a few other women. Her face is circled with a red marker, and next to it reads the words last scene. There are two more shots just like it for Embry Knight and Shelly Grant, and they all seem to be at the Magic Castle.

  Jasper carefully holds the picture of Anita up to the light. “This was done with a laser printer. I’m guessing he got the images off the security camera. We’ve got the tapes. I bet I can see these in motion.”

  “Jasper, look.” I point to the upper right hand of the picture. “They’re time stamped.” I pull out my phone and take a picture of each of them. “I guess Julian is responsible for those missing women.”

  Jasper shakes his head. “Honestly, I don’t know. His record is clean. He has no history of mental illness or trouble at school. Nothing to point in this direction at all.”

  “Well, he did like to make people disappear. Maybe this was the ultimate disappearing act?”

  Jasper frowns at the file. “Maybe. And the department did find proof that he was running the Collective. A few men have taken over, hoping to cash in on what he started. Now our focus is on finding out who they are.”

  “Good work,” I say. “Hopefully soon the Collective will be no more.” I blow out a breath as I look at those pictures once again. “Jasper? Anita, Embry, and Shelly—they’re all wearing jewel-tone cocktail dresses and they’re talking to men in these pictures. I think there’s a very good chance these three women all took part in the Collective.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  We unearth several newspaper articles about the girls’ disappearances, and at the bottom of the stack there’s a note written that reads evil lurks among us. The time of the big reveal is at hand. I have all the evidence I need. Goodbye, TBM, goodbye.

  Jasper and I exchange a look.

  It feels as if Julian himself has plunged us right back into the icy depths of confusion.

  “What does this mean?” I whisper.

  Jasper shakes his head. “What does it mean, indeed?”

  Chapter 16

  The Saturday of McKenna and Caleb’s wedding, the sun shines bright, the birds are chirping, and the fall foliage is just hitting its stride with a citrine rainbow of colors. The wall of evergreens to the left stands tall like emerald soldiers that showed up to see that McKenna’s big day goes off without a hitch. But it’s the majestic cobalt blue Atlantic that steals the show here at the bluff. It creates a dramatic backdrop that makes this entire affair feel—for a lack of a better word, magical.

  Archie has wrapped the entire gazebo with sunflowers and mums, strings of fall leaves, and miniature pumpkins. It’s an autumn soaked dream. The oversized planters he brought over have been encircled with a bed of small pumpkins and a pom of peach roses is attached to the white ladder back chairs that line the aisle.

  A string quartet plays classical music as Zeke escorts Michaela down the aisle. Zeke looks dapper in a light gray suit, and with his copper-colored hair he looks like a doppelgänger of his brother, the groom.

  Michaela looks like an angel in mint green, her blonde curls waterfalling over her shoulders. Next up is Archie as he links arms with Caleb’s sister.

  Finally, two pint-sized cuties make their way down the aisle, Caleb’s nephew and niece, Dakota and Mimi.

  “Oh, Jasper.” I give his hand a squeeze as I drink in the adorable duo. Dakota has on a miniature gray suit, matching the groomsmen exactly. His dark blond hair is slicked to the side and he has a shy smile and yet a wily gleam in his eyes.

  Jasper leans in. Ten bucks says he pitches a few of these pumpkins off the cliff after the wedding.

  I nod up at him in agreement. “As he should for letting them stuff him into that suit.”

  And little Mimi is an angel in her teal dress with its full tulle skirt. Her golden hair is in an updo with a trickle of curls coming off the top. She giggles as she freely tosses handfuls of pink rose petals to the left and right, and soon the entire runner has been sprinkled with color.

  Sherlock lets out a whisper of a bark as Lucky and Misty take their positions at the edge of the aisle.

  Pay attention, Fish. Sherlock nudges my sweet cat’s tail as I hold her. This will be us in a week.

  “A week?” I mutter to myself, and Jasper dots a kiss to my temple.

  Don’t worry, Bizzy. Everything will fall into place. As long as you and I are there, nothing else matters.

  I shoot him a look.

  Easy for him to say. He doesn’t have to get a dress, or decide whether to wear his hair up or down, or choose a nail color and lipstick. And have I hired a photographer yet?

  McKenna has two videographers and two photographers. I’ll be speaking to all four before we leave.

  I did it.

&nb
sp; My mind picks up on a rather anonymous voice. It happens sometimes when I’m stressed. I’ll start picking up stray thoughts from who knows where. And the more stressed I become, the more thoughts I pick up on at once. Dear God, if that happens during my wedding, I will strangle Mackenzie Woods with my bare hands for putting me in this transmundane predicament to begin with.

  I’ll be celebrating at the reception, all right, but it will have very little to do with the bride and groom.

  The mysterious internal voice goes off once again, and it’s too hard to decipher if it came from a man or a woman. When I’m too far away from the mind I’m inadvertently reading, the inner voice tends to sound a bit androgynous.

  The string quartet ups the volume a notch and starts in on the traditional “Wedding March” just as every guest on the bluff stands to their feet and turns toward the back.

  Lucky and Misty are next up, and the entire crowd gives a collective coo.

  “Look at that,” I whisper to Fish and Jasper. “Lucky has a top hat on, and Misty has a little veil and a string of pearls!”

  I’m not wearing pearls, am I? Fish looks up at me in horror. Sherlock will swallow me whole if he sees a string of miniature balls tied around my neck.

  “Good point,” I whisper.

  Lucky saunters proudly with his thick black and white peppered coat and his daring blue eyes sirening at the crowd. There’s a tiny heart-shaped pillow dangling from his collar and tied to it with a ribbon are two platinum bands. Misty mewls as she hops daintily by his side. Her fuzzy gray coat looks downy to the touch, and her little tail points straight up in the air. They’re both so adorable, the entire crowd alternates between melting at the sight of them and bouts of intermittent laughter. Jasper and I are caught between the two ourselves.

  Sherlock lets out a friendly bark as they pass us. Keep up the good work! There’s bacon in it for you, buddy! In fact, I’ll help you eat it.

  Lucky and Misty take their rightful places just as the music changes tempo.