by Judi Lynn
She liked the idea. “I’d love to have more flowering trees around our house—maybe some crab apples, magnolia trees, and flowering pears.”
Ansel turned onto Main Street. Traffic was heavy this time of night. “In the spring, we can plant as many trees as you want. Anything else?”
“I like azalea bushes.”
“Those, too, then.” He pressed a hand to his stomach. “I’m starving. What’s for supper tonight?”
“I started a pork loin in the slow cooker.”
“Did I see you add coconut milk and dried apricots?”
“And I rubbed it with a spice blend, too.”
He smiled. “You got that recipe off the Food Network, didn’t you?”
“You owe Sunny Anderson a special thank-you.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“If we’re up for it, I thought I’d make vegetable soup for tomorrow and take a round of crusty bread out of the freezer.” She happened to know that Ansel had a soft spot for the stuff. Once it was sweater weather, they craved more soups, stews, and one-dish meals.
“I’m never leaving you. You know that, right? I’m like George. We can be swayed by food.” He glanced at the pug on the back seat. Sometimes, his ears perked up when he heard his name, but tonight he never blinked.
Once Ansel got out of city traffic and turned onto Coliseum Boulevard, he asked, “How was Thane? Okay?”
“He’s pretty upset.” Jazzi explained.
“I’d be upset, too,” Ansel said. “Thane thought Walker and his mom were dead the last two years. Not knowing what happened to them would eat at you.”
Jazzi thought of her mom, wondering what had happened to Lynda. It had been a relief when Jazzi and Jerod found her skeleton. At least, she knew Lynda had died and hadn’t deserted and ignored them.
Ansel turned onto the road that led to their house. As always, once their stone cottage came into view, Jazzi’s spirits lifted. The house was larger inside than it looked, with a massive kitchen and living room downstairs, and three good-sized bedrooms and two baths up. It sat on a large piece of property with a pond Ansel had dug in the back.
As always, Ansel stopped to drop Jazzi off at the kitchen door before he drove to the garage. She was filling the cats’ bowls when he carried George inside. Inky and Marmalade purred loudly as they ate. Jazzi loved that sound. George went to his bowl, too, and Ansel fed him. The pug liked dry dog food, as long as it was augmented with table scraps at meals.
Ansel inhaled a deep breath. “The kitchen smells wonderful.”
The magic of a slow cooker. The aroma of the pork roast made Jazzi’s mouth water.
Before they worried about sides for supper, Jazzi and Ansel climbed the steps to their bedroom and took quick showers. They planned on staying inside the rest of the night, so changed into their pajamas early.
Ansel looked especially appealing in his drawstring, striped PJ bottoms and roomy T-shirt. Darn, her guy was sexy. The way he was looking at her let her know he appreciated her in pajamas, too. Then his stomach rumbled, and Jazzi laughed.
“Let’s finish making supper.” Half an hour later, she put butter and parsley in the pot of drained potatoes, and Ansel tossed their salad. They settled at the kitchen island to eat, and George hunkered by Ansel’s feet to beg.
The coconut milk she’d added to the pork had thickened into a gravy, and she poured some over her potatoes. Ansel wasn’t so subtle. He drowned his plate in it before tossing a piece of the roast to George. When he’d finished his first helping and dished up a second, he slowed down a little. He turned toward her, finally ready for their usual dinner conversation. “You never left River Bluffs, did you? Do you have any friends that go back to second grade like Thane and Walker?”
“You’ve met Leesa and Suze when our group meets at restaurants some Fridays. We’ve been friends a long time.”
“You’ve known them since grade school?”
She shook her head. “Nope, since high school. The kids I hung out with in grade school ended up in different middle schools and high schools. I lost track of them. What about you? Do you have any longtime friends?”
“Ethan and I did a lot of stuff together once we met in middle school, but then he got married right out of high school, and I left Wisconsin and moved here.”
Jazzi finished her supper and stood to carry her dirty dishes to the sink. “Right now, it’s harder for Leesa, Suze, and me to get together. They have babies and young kids.”
“Kids change everything.” Ansel carried his dirty dishes over to join her. “I think it’s great that they still make time to see you.” With a grin, he added, “Especially since they let their husbands and me tag along.”
“So do I.” She finished rinsing dishes for him to load in the dishwasher and began wiping down the sink area. “I’m going to take a break and watch some TV before I start the soup for tomorrow.”
“When you’re ready, I’ll help you.” Ansel walked behind her and put his arms around her waist. He leaned closer to say, “But I can think of something better to do than watch TV.”
“You can, can you?” She swiveled out of his embrace, took his hand, and started to the stairs. George raised his head, saw where they going, and lowered it again. The cats didn’t take the hint and ran ahead of them, only to have Ansel scoot them out of the room and shut the door.
An hour later, freshly showered again, she and Ansel returned to the kitchen. She tossed stew meat in the food processor and pulsed it into smaller pieces before adding it to the hot oil in the Dutch oven. She seared it, then added the beef broth and seasonings while Ansel chopped and added vegetables. They let the soup simmer while they watched TV.
By the time they called it a night, tomorrow’s supper waited in the fridge, and crusty bread thawed on the countertop. Once in bed, she and Ansel turned on their sides, butts touching, to drift into slumber. Marmalade jumped on the bed and pressed against Ansel’s leg. Inky snuggled into the curve of Jazzi’s thighs and stomach. In a sleepy voice, Ansel asked, “Do you think Gaff will find Walker and his mom?”
“If they’re not dead, sure. I doubt they changed their identities and went into hiding.”
“What do you think Thane will do if Walker comes back to River Bluffs?”
“Probably cuss him out and warn him to stay far away from him.”
“That’s what I’d do.” Ansel’s hand slid under the blankets to touch her fanny. Her Norseman liked having her within reach.
Jazzi wondered if Walker would even bother to return here when he learned Darby was dead, or if he did, if he’d return with a wife and maybe a kid. What kind of explanation could he give Thane for making him worry all this time? Maybe Walker wasn’t as good a friend to Thane as Thane had been to him. Maybe Thane was lucky Walker was no longer a part of his life.
Chapter 10
Jazzi sliced the leftover pork roast to make sandwiches for their lunch today. She topped it with plenty of pickles because the guys loved them. She added two bags of chips to the cooler, and Ansel grabbed it and one of the coffee thermoses to carry to his waiting van.
“Come on, George!” he called. “You have to walk this morning.”
The pug rose to follow him while Jazzi reached for the second thermos.
Inky gave her a dirty look. George got to go with them. The cats didn’t. He leapt onto the countertop and went straight to the glass jar holding her new bouquet of flowers, put his paw on the side, and knocked it over. As usual, the glass broke, and water ran everywhere.
“You brat!” Jazzi grabbed for him, but he took off before she could reach him. She put down her thermos and cleaned up the mess. This time, she went to the pantry and returned with a heavy ceramic jar her grandma used for making sauerkraut. She jammed the flowers in that. Not ideal. The brim was too wide, and the flowers sprawled, but let Inky try to knock it ove
r! Then she headed to the van.
There was more traffic than usual this early on a Wednesday morning. Jazzi had tugged on a sweatshirt and her insulated flannel since the temperatures had dropped during the night. The inside of the van felt cold, and Ansel flipped on the heater to take off the chill. He wore his long-sleeved thermal shirt beneath a worn sweater. She loved it when he looked like a rugged outdoorsman.
On the drive south, Ansel saw flashing lights a few blocks ahead, so he turned onto Anthony. They passed strip malls before they reached a section of well-tended older houses. Tudors jostled alongside American Foursquares and two-stories with deep front porches. Jazzi could remember when this street was lined with majestic American elm trees, but elm disease had ravaged all of them. Now crab apple trees took their place. In the spring, white flowers formed a corridor for traffic.
Ansel stayed on Anthony until they reached Rudisill, then drove to Southwood Park. The trip took longer with this route, but there was less traffic. Jerod’s pickup slid in behind them when they pulled to the curb.
“’Morning, guys!” He strapped on his work belt before he started toward them. “Time to build the new back porch. You ready?”
They buckled on their work belts, too. Ansel handed Jerod the cooler to lug inside, then he carried George to the backyard. After Jazzi put the two thermoses on the kitchen countertop, she tugged on her work gloves and went to join Ansel. They’d decided to build a deck across the entire back of the house, with a roofed area over the kitchen door. It would be large enough for grilling and entertaining.
They had the frame and floor done when Thane called. Jazzi winced when she heard his gruff, angry voice. “Detective Gaff found Walker and Rose. They moved to Dayton, Ohio, not that far from here. He asked them to come to River Bluffs so he can talk to them. Rose can’t make it. She has to work, but Walker’s on his way. Gaff wanted to bring him to my work site, but there’s no privacy here. Besides, I don’t want to see him. No such luck. Gaff insisted, so I told him to bring Walker to your fixer-upper.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I have to be, don’t I? It’s not like I have a choice.”
“I’m sorry, Thane. We’ll be here for you.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in an hour.”
When she put her phone back in her pocket, Jerod shook his head. “We heard. Thane’s not a happy camper. His voice carried.”
“Everyone should be here in an hour,” Jazzi said.
Jerod nodded, walking toward a pile of railing posts. “That’s long enough to finish the deck so no one falls off it.”
They didn’t waste time talking. They got busy. By the time Gaff strolled up the walkway to the house, the railing was finished. A tall man with crisp, chestnut-colored hair walked behind him. He was good-looking, but not drop dead gorgeous like Ansel. Jazzi hurried to greet them and hustle them inside before Thane got there.
Gaff introduced them. “Walker, this is Ansel, Jazzi, and Jerod. And this is Darby’s son, Walker.”
Ansel had already crowded six chairs around their card table. They were settling in place when Thane gave a quick knock and walked through the door. He glanced at Walker, and his expression turned hard.
Walker pinched his lips together. “I’m sorry, bud. I promised my mom I wouldn’t talk to you.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Thane sat between Jerod and Ansel. “Ancient history.”
“But Darby’s dead now. I can explain.”
Thane crossed his arms over his chest. “No need to. We’ve both moved on.”
Gaff opened his notepad and focused on Walker. “Well, I’d like to know what happened and why you disappeared two years ago.”
Walker tried to make eye contact with Thane, but he turned his head. Walker let out a ragged breath. “My dad and I got into a fight like we always did. When Mom tried to smooth things over, it ticked Dad off. He said he’d never been sure if I was really his son, that he was pretty sure Mom had been having a little fun on the side. Dad always insulted me. I didn’t care about that, but he’d never insulted Mom. He berated her, sure, always let her know she could have cooked a better meal, kept the house cleaner. Stupid stuff, but he’d never hit her so low before. It made me furious, and he laughed at me. That’s when I knew he’d keep poking at Mom over and over again to get at me, so I hit him, knocked him down, and I would have kicked him, but Mom stepped between us.”
Thane’s eyes went wide with shock, but he still refused to look at his old friend.
“I don’t get it,” Gaff said, putting down his pen. “You left River Bluffs because you hit your dad?”
Walker’s hands curled into fists. “Dad had never pushed Mom before, but he must have decided it was worth it to twist the knife in me. He’d keep doing it, so I left because I knew I’d hit him again. And again. I despised him, and I needed to get away from him. The thing is, later that night, when I told Mom I was moving out, she said she was going, too. She said once Dad got started on someone, he never quit. He’d make her life miserable. Dad wouldn’t have crossed the line except to needle me. So how could I just leave her?”
Gaff frowned. “But if she’d filed for divorce, she’d have gotten a decent settlement. It sounds like she’d earned it.”
“I asked her about that. She thought Dad would do everything to keep us from getting a penny, and he’d drag the proceedings out as long as he could. She hadn’t worked in thirty years and had no job skills, but she said she’d rather live in poverty than battle Dad for months.”
Jerod shook his head. “All she needed was a good lawyer. She’d have done all right.”
Walker shrugged, looking doubtful. “I don’t know. I didn’t think she’d ever leave him. All I could think about was if Mom walked out on Dad, we’d have to leave town or Dad would find her and heckle her all the time.”
Thane’s voice came out as a deep growl. “I get that. I understand. But why couldn’t you return my calls? Let me know you were alive?”
“Alive?” Walker stared. “Why wouldn’t I be alive?”
“Think about it!” Thane jumped to his feet, his voice raised. “You disappear in the middle of the night, and no one knows where you went or what happened to you. I thought Darby found out you were going to slip away, lost it, and killed you both. I even went to the cops to see if he buried you on his property.”
Walker shook his head, stunned. “Is that what happened? Cops tracked us down, but they said someone had reported us missing, and Mom thought it had to be Dad. She begged them not to tell anyone they’d found us.”
Thane’s face turned so red, Jazzi worried he’d explode from anger. He asked again, “Why wouldn’t you return my calls?”
Walker looked down at the floor. “Mom made me promise I wouldn’t talk to you. She was afraid I’d tell you where we were and Dad would get it out of you somehow. Or that you’d drive to see us and he’d follow you. I never even dreamed…” He swallowed hard. “I wanted to see you so much. She knew that. I needed somebody to talk to. I needed a friend, but Mom had put all of her trust in me. I couldn’t let her down.”
Thane rammed his fingers through his hair in frustration, then jammed his hands into his pockets. Mumbling to himself, he stomped outside onto the newly built deck. They could watch him pace back and forth through the windows. Finally, he flung the door open, walked straight to Walker, and crushed him in a hug. “You made me sick with worry, but jeez, I’ve missed you. I always missed you.”
Walker’s shoulders sagged with relief. “I didn’t want you to worry about me. That’s why I called you before we left. I thought you’d put two and two together. You knew my dad.”
“I put it together wrong.” Thane pushed away and went back to his chair. He locked gazes with Walker. “What now?”
“No idea,” Walker admitted. “I thought the old man would live forever, that he was too mean to die.”
“Are you a suspect like I am?” Thane asked.
“You’re a suspect?” Walker stared at him in surprise.
“Long story, but do you have an alibi?”
“People can vouch I never left Dayton. I played cards at Mom’s house until midnight, and then a neighbor pounded on my apartment door at three. He was drunk and couldn’t figure out why his key wasn’t working. I got him to his place and helped his wife get him settled, then I had to be at work at seven.”
“What about your mom?”
“Mom? Why would she be a suspect?”
“She’s on our list.” Gaff, as usual, didn’t mince words. Jazzi supposed most detectives didn’t. He gave Walker a long look. “Darby found out she’d remarried, called her.”
“Your mom remarried?” Thane inhaled and let out a deep breath.
“After a while, when she felt safer, and after she met Gene, she changed her mind.”
“Walker can tell you about that later, but for now, I’m interested in the message Darby left him.” Gaff explained about the safe they’d found buried under the slab of cement. “It’s meant for you.”
Walker tossed a nervous glance Thane’s way. “That was the safe Dad kept in the office, remember? I stored contracts in it. Why do you think he buried it with my name on it?”
“I thought he might have booby-trapped it.”
Walker seemed to consider that a possibility. “Do you think he wrote some terrible curse for me to read after he was gone?”
Ansel’s eyebrows rose, surprised that a son would suspect his dad of being that vindictive.
“The safe’s still in my trunk,” Gaff said. “Never got someone to help me carry it into the station.”
“Do you remember the combination?” Thane asked.
“Yeah, but…”