Murder on the Equator Box Set

by Becca Bloom

  Plunking her fisted hands on her narrow hips, she said, “If he stuck, he need help. You open.”

  Her keen awareness of getting me to do the very things I most wished to avoid was her superpower.

  I grabbed the handle, pulled open the door, and froze in place when I saw Victor slumped on the floor. He didn't move. Coming to my senses enough to realize he needed help, I stepped into the freezer and tapped lightly on his shoulder. “Victor?” I called. Oh, how I prayed he still had a pulse.

  "Harder. Fool take siesta."

  I shoved on his shoulder, screaming and jumping back when he fell against me. His glassed-over eyes did not blink.

  Backing out of the freezer with my hand over my mouth, I registered the hum of voices on the other side of the counter before the floor spun in a circle and smacked me against the head.

  Chapter 5

  I woke up to Tia Rosa stroking my face gently on one side and Abuelita smacking my cheek on the other. Fluorescent lights hummed above me. The power was back on. Adi was nearby and I heard Edgar's voice giving people directions to the competition's ice cream parlor before the rolling door rattled shut. And that's when it all came crashing back to me.

  "Victor!" I tried to sit up, but Tia Rosa pressed down on my forehead and my tailbone opposed all my efforts to move.

  "You hit head. Be still," she said.

  I blocked Abuelita's hand before she could smack my cheek again. "I'm awake now. Has anyone called the police?" I tried to roll onto my side. Everything hurt.

  "You call," said Abuelita, handing me my cell phone.

  I scowled at her. What else had she pulled out of my pockets while I was unconscious?

  “How long was I out?”

  “No long. You fall; you awake,” Tia Rosa said, gently moving my head from the tile floor to her lap. She felt like a pillow.

  My bum screamed at me to stand and my head begged me to stay where I was. Gritting my teeth and rolling to lay on my side, I scrolled down my list of contacts for the one number I dreaded calling.

  Agent Washington Vasquez answered on the first ring. I heard a soccer game playing in the background. “Halo,” he said.

  His greeting threw me for a loop. "Aren't you supposed to say, 'Hola'?"

  "Jessica?"

  "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, this is me." My mind drew a blank. Not because I didn't know what to tell him, but I wasn't sure how to say it. Baños hadn't seen many violent crimes until I came along. Washo would probably escort me to the airport to make sure I returned where I came from, only leaving once I promised never to come back again.

  I heard him sigh. "What's happened?" he asked, his voice low and resigned to hear bad news.

  "Victor is dead."

  "Who’s Victor?" he asked. I heard paper ruffling and knew he had pulled out his ever-present, pocket-sized notepad.

  "He's the owner of the ice cream shop next to Abuelita's restaurant. He was just fine earlier this morning."

  “You saw him earlier?”

  “Yes. Before he opened for business.”

  "I'm a homicide detective, Miss James. What makes you think he was murdered?"

  "The brick was kicked away from the door," I said before I even realized I had noticed that detail. Looking to the side of the freezer, I saw the brick Roberto insisted Victor use to prop open the door laying useless several feet away.

  "Brick? How do you know this and to what door do you refer? Speak, Miss James. I can't read your mind and I'm not about to drive all the way to Baños on my day off unless I have to."

  "I'm the one who found his body slumped inside his walk-in freezer. The emergency release doesn’t work, so he used a brick to prop the door open."

  "That doesn’t prove it was a murder. Did you notice any obvious signs of injury?"

  "No. I'm sorry." I really was sorry. Sorry that Victor, a nice guy I had started to befriend, was dead when only hours before he'd been full of life and plans for his family's business. Sorry to ruin Washo's day. Sorry I knew my adventure would be canceled for certain.

  Washo grumbled. "I'm on my way. I'll take care of calling the police. Don't let anyone near the scene until they arrive. Wait for me at the restaurant. If this ends up being a crime scene, I hope you have one heck of an alibi."

  The phone clicked and the line went dead. He was grumpy. I couldn’t blame him. I wasn’t in that great of a mood either.

  Groaning as I rose to my feet, and thinking my head just might explode, I repeated Washo's instructions to Abuelita and Tia Rosa and headed out to the front of Victor's shop.

  Jake ducked under the half-closed metal door. "What happened here? Why is Victor closed on a day like this?"

  I lifted my hand to touch the throbbing pulse at the back of my head and winced in regret. At least there was no blood on my fingers. Just a giant, aching goose egg.

  Pulling a chair out for me, Jake said, "Sit down before you fall down. Jess, you should see a doctor. Did you hit your head?"

  I tried to sit, but I couldn't. It appeared I would be cursed to stand when I dearly wished not to.

  Adi touched Jake's arm. "Calm down, Gato. Victor is dead and the police are on their way." She looked at me. "Aren't they?"

  I nodded and immediately wished I hadn't when a wave of pain washed over me and left me nauseated. "Washo said he'd take care of that. He told us to wait next door until he arrived and not to touch anything." I reached for the chair I couldn't sit in, leaning over as far as my tailbone permitted.

  I’d never felt more miserable in my life, but now was not the time to wallow. I’d focus on Victor. He was far worse off than I was. What a horrible thought.

  "You need a doctor, Jess. Come on. I'll take you," insisted Jake.

  His concern was endearing, but I was fairly certain I hadn't broken anything and the bump on the back of my head was just that. A bump.

  "No blood, no breaks, no doctor. That's my motto," I said as steadily as I could, trying to force a smile.

  "Is estúpido," commented Abuelita. She thought most things I said and did were "estúpido."

  Edgar came in through the side door, placing the grocery bag he held on the counter. He collapsed into the nearest chair, propping his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face against his hands. "I can't believe it. I just can't believe it."

  I had no answers for him. Nobody did. We all stood around in silence until he popped out of his chair and rushed to the cash register.

  "Agent Vasquez said not to touch anything," I said.

  The till opened and Edgar shook his head in disbelief. "Nothing here is missing," he said, continuing over to the drawer Victor kept his laptop. Wrenching it open, Edgar exclaimed, "It's missing! Victor's laptop is gone. We've been robbed!"

  “A robber who doesn’t take money? Victor’s computer isn’t even new,” said Adi.

  I was about to tell them that Victor's computer was safe and sound at Adi's apartment when Hugo showed up.

  "What's all this ruckus?" he asked. "My students are glued to the window overlooking the front of the shop when they should be conjugating verbs."

  Edgar shot over to him. "Did you see anything?" he asked.

  "See what? I have no idea what's going on," said Hugo.

  Running his hand through his hair, Edgar apologized. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe Victor is dead and I feel like I need to do something to help."

  Hugo's eyes bugged out of his face. "Victor is dead? Where is Roberto? Does he know?"

  Oh no. Someone had to call Roberto and tell him. My stomach felt like a hollow pit sinking to the floor.

  I asked Edgar, "Didn’t you have today off?” He had on a Yoda t-shirt and blue jeans, not the regular penguin shirt and khakis.

  “I’ve had the last couple days off. I only stopped by to let Victor know I’d be back in tomorrow and he asked if I could buy some cream before I went home. I shouldn’t have left.”

  “Was Roberto still here when you arrived?"

  "Yes. He stayed until I got here,
then he left for Ambato. That was probably three hours ago. I stayed to help until Victor had things under control."

  My shoulders slumped. I would tell him the bad news. Clutching my phone in my hand, I swiped the screen. "What's his number, Edgar?"

  Abuelita poked me in the arm. "Give it me. I tell him. You enough miserable."

  My gratitude was great and I happily handed her my phone.

  While Abuelita waited for an answer, Hugo said, "If he answers, tell him I'll be happy to buy the property from him. I doubt he'll want it now."

  Abuelita charged forward to poke him in the chest. "You no have heart, Señor Santorini. His brother die and you want do business?"

  Hugo raised his hands up by his face. "Hey, I meant no harm. I only thought to help. The last thing he'll want to do while dealing with Victor's death is to run another business when he's busy enough as it is. It's a favor."

  "Favor, my eye! Is many year you want buy this building," Abuelita hissed, continuing her finger-poking and completely ignoring Roberto on the other end of the line.

  “Old bat,” mumbled Hugo.

  “Mafioso,” she shot back, then switched to a softer tone for Roberto. I couldn’t understand much of what she said, but her tone was every bit as kind as Tia Rosa’s. Their conversation was not long.

  Tapping the screen and ending the call, Abuelita announced, “He come.”

  “We need to get out of here. The police should arrive soon, and Agent Vasquez asked for us to wait for him next door.”

  Jake said, “I’d better give Mom a heads-up. And Jess, you really should see the doctor.”

  “I’ll go later.”

  He crossed his arms and stared at me.

  “I promise,” I added.

  Adi rested her hand on my shoulder. “I’ll make sure she does, Jake. I’ll take her to Dr. Montalvo.” To me, she added, “He’s ancient and a bit of an alarmist, but he speaks English and we like him. Vanessa is his nurse. She’ll be devastated to hear the news, but someone has to tell her.” Vanessa was Roberto’s fiancée.

  Hugo returned upstairs to Esmeralda and his students while the rest of us waited outside on the sidewalk.

  You would think that our proximity to the police station would guarantee the speedy arrival of the police. Except, this was Ecuador and nothing happened fast here. Not in my experience anyway.

  Jake and his mom, Sylvia, joined us on the sidewalk, carrying glasses with fresh pineapple juice and sandwiches wrapped in napkins which everyone but me finished long before the first policeman arrived with yellow caution tape. The Extra Strength Tylenol Sylvia gave me couldn’t take the image of Victor out of my head.

  Edgar stayed with the police while we filed into Sylvia’s kitchen. Resting my forearms on the top of the cool surface of the island in the middle of the room, I stared at my uneaten sandwich.

  “Talk to me, Jess. You look like you’re still in shock.” Sylvia tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and rubbed my back.

  “A guy I knew was killed today and I saw his dead body. I’ve never seen a real dead body before.” I just knew it had been a murder. I didn’t have any proof or reason to believe it was anything other than an accident, but every fiber in my aching body knew there had been foul play.

  “You no go funeral?” asked Abuelita incredulously.

  “Most people I know get cremated.”

  My muscles relaxed enough to dull the ache in my head as Sylvia continued rubbing my back. She said, “Here, they show pictures of brutal deaths on the front page of the newspaper all the time, and most funerals are open-casket. Of all of you,” she pointed around the room, “you are the least prepared to have stumbled on a dead body. I’m just glad Fernanda isn’t here to overhear this.”

  “Jess wouldn’t be in this mess if Abuelita hadn’t insisted on poking around,” Adi accused.

  I cringed. Did she want to start a fight?

  Sylvia glared daggers at her mother. “Is this true, Ma? Did you drag Jessica into this?”

  Tia Rosa quietly backed away, retreating for the sink and the pile of dishes waiting for her to clean.

  Abuelita squared her shoulders and raised her chin defiantly. “I help her.”

  “Help? How is this helping her?” Sylvia insisted.

  “Jessica too good girl. Too scare. I make her not scare.”

  “By involving her in yet another murder case? That’s a ridiculous answer, Ma, and you know it. The poor girl hasn’t been able to enjoy her vacation since the day she got here and all you’re doing is guaranteeing she’ll never want to come back!”

  Abuelita narrowed her eyes. “I help her be strong. To be brave and do what make her happy.”

  Adi harrumphed. “It’d be nice if you’d extend the same courtesy to your own granddaughter.”

  A shouting match ensued between Adi and Abuelita. Neither of them listened to the voices of reason beside them, too intent on making their point to pay heed to Sylvia or Jake.

  I did what I thought best and pulled the knife block out of their reach, then squeezed my head between my palms to keep it from bursting. I was about to pray for divine intervention when Agent Vasquez walked into the kitchen. Well, he would do too.

  Chapter 6

  With a heavy sigh, Washo removed his sunglasses, set them on the top of the island, and pulled out his notepad. "I apologize for interrupting your … discussion … but it seems your house guest has a propensity for stumbling upon dead bodies. I'll need to ask her a few questions."

  Abuelita pointed her bony finger in the air. "Is Hugo Santorini. My gut feel it. Is Mafioso."

  I shook my head. Of course, his offer to buy the property from Roberto was ill-timed and came across as callous, but as a businessman, I could understand how he could see the opportunity he'd been waiting for since he opened his language school in Victor's building. However, there was one point I needed cleared. "If you thought he was mafia, why did you encourage me to sign up for Spanish classes with the Santorinis?"

  Abuelita shrugged. "He best teacher in Baños."

  That wasn't good enough. "I don't care if he's the best. If you thought he was dangerous, you shouldn't have introduced me to them."

  "Is personal. Is no business. He no like me, but he eat here many day."

  "The saying is the other way around, 'It's not personal. It's business.' You can't misquote expressions to me in the hopes that it justifies your behavior."

  "Oh, snap," said Adi with a gleeful smile.

  Jake, too, was struggling to control himself.

  Sylvia intervened. "Jessica is right, Ma. If you thought the Santorinis were disreputable in any way, you should not have signed her up for Spanish classes with them. There are other language schools in town."

  Tia Rosa added, "I no think they Mafiosos and I no think Hugo kill Victor."

  "If you smarty pants, who you think murder him? Eh?" asked Abuelita, tapping her shoe and crossing her arms.

  Tia Rosa turned away from the dishes, peeking over her fogged glasses at us. "I no detective. I let smart detective do the work."

  Washo's chest swelled ever so slightly as she peered up at him adoringly. Clearing his throat, he said, "As for that, we’re not certain if it is a crime scene yet. It could well have been nothing more than an accident.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  “And you know this … how?” He poised his pencil over the notepad.

  “I just know. The brick was too far out of the way to have been an accident.”

  Washo sighed and bunched up his cheeks as if I sorely tried his patience. “Then let’s not lose precious time. You mentioned you saw Victor before opening hours this morning?"

  "He had asked me for my doughnut recipe. I wrote it down and gave it to him before leaving for a hike with Jake and Adi."

  “What time?”

  “I went to Victors at eight-thirty. We left for the hike at nine.”

  Washo's pencil scratched over the paper. Without looking up, he asked, "
Where did you go?"

  "La Casa del Árbol."

  "When did you get back?"

  "It must have been close to one o'clock. My stomach was grumbling, but it was so hot, we decided to have an ice cream before lunch."

  "Did you notice anything unusual or out of place when you last saw Victor?"

  "The power was out, so it was difficult to notice anything. Roberto, his older brother, stayed behind to help him pack their walk-in freezer with their ice cream until Edgar — he’s the manager — arrived to help."

  Washo's head raised from his notepad. "With the power out?"

  "They kept it frozen with dry ice."

  "Interesting. Very interesting," he mumbled to himself as he continued scribbling. After a while, he asked, "Anything else?"

  I was about to say, "No," when I remembered the laptop. "Roberto was frustrated because Victor's laptop wouldn't start up properly. I offered to take a look at it for them. Roberto made a comment before I left about Victor showing him something on there later."

  "Did he give any hint as to what it was?"

  "No. With the way they were willing to put it off, I got the impression it wasn't too important."

  "Where is Victor's laptop now?"

  "It's in my room."

  Washo's cell phone beeped and he answered, speaking in clipped sentences.

  After he hung up, I asked, "Do you want me to get the computer for you?"

  "Hang on to it for now.”

  “Thank you for your trust, but I really don’t want it.”

  Washo put his notepad back in his pocket. “It has nothing to do with trust, Miss James.”

  Oh, so now I was Miss James again. He was definitely peeved.

  Continuing, he said, “If you lose the computer, I know who to blame and have a better idea of where to look. If it’s lost in my department, full of newbie recruits they’ve dumped on me, it’ll take me forever to find it and I have better things to do with my time. You keep it. Don’t lose it. Are we clear?”

  “I’ll keep it safe,” I grumbled.

  “You’d better.” He held up his phone, adding, “Roberto has just arrived on the scene and I need to speak with him immediately. I'll ask him about it. Thank you for your help, Miss James. I will have more questions for you. Please do not leave Baños until I can establish what we’re dealing with and verify your alibi."