The Queen of Hearts (Mountain Springs Mysteries, #1)

by J. E. Mann

  “Breaking and entering when he was sixteen, nothing else.”

  “Aren’t those records sealed?”

  Rach blushed.

  “The guy at the courthouse has a slight crush on me.” she laughed. Rach picked up her food and dumped it in the trash. I picked up my soda and sipped on it as we walked toward the front door.

  “What was that puddle of liquid I found near the body?”

  “I almost forgot. Sterling silver. Steve had no piercings anywhere on his body so…”

  “He kept his ring with him. Maybe she was the one causing problems?”

  Rach stopped and looked at me. “Two suspects, a son who was cut out of the family business and the wife who was cheated on. The main problem with him is how did he know Steve? It seems too personal for the killer not to know his victim. Gloria knew and maybe had reason to hate Steve. The main problem is do you see her shooting Steve and then removing his heart?”

  “I didn’t see any hearts lying around her house. Of course I didn’t check the refrigerator.” I shuddered involuntarily. “Why is this bothering me? Damn!”

  “Killing someone can happen instantly. Somebody gets angry or has a mental break, death can come easy. But the cutting out of the heart means careful planning and a stated goal.”

  “Maybe we aren’t considering all the angles on Gloria here. Maybe she couldn’t kill him, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t hire someone who could.”

  “Bring me his heart on a silver platter? Sounds like Snow White.”

  I nodded. “Let’s find out what kind of problems the Calloway’s were having. You try to find out about our upset son, I’ll see what the gossip was about the wife and husband. Meet back at the office around six?”

  She nodded. “I hope it’s a onetime thing Jake. If not, whoever did this is going to accelerate.”

  “Yea,” I agreed, “10,000 cannibals can’t be wrong.”

  **********************************************

  The door slammed in my face. Apparently the next door neighbor of the Calloways didn’t care that Steve was dead. I walked down the front stoop and pondered what my next move would be. In hindsight, I guess I should have lied when asked if I was with the police. What ever happened to people being up in everyone else’s business and wanting to share it? I glanced up and down the street. My eye fell upon a heavy set black woman two houses down. She was sitting on her porch and she was glancing at me. Putting on my best professional demurer, I crossed the street and headed toward her.

  “Excuse me ma’am, Detective Morningstar, can I ask you a few questions?”

  She looked me up and down.

  “Dressed kinda casual for a detective,” she said.

  “Undercover assignment, ma’am. Your name?”

  “Sasha, Sasha Johnson.”

  “Mrs. Johnson, have you..”

  “Miss,” she interrupted.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Miss Johnson, I’m not married,” her eyes dared me to have some kind of problem with that.

  “Sorry, Miss Johnson, have you noticed anything strange with your neighbors?” I pointed at the Calloways. She rolled her eyes.

  “What you want to know?”

  “Anything strange or unusual?”

  “Last Tuesday it was quiet over there. That was strange. Most of the time there is all kinds of noise coming out of there. One time, they kept fighting right on the grass. I thought I would have to call the police.”

  I nodded in a professional manner. Go on my nod said.

  “He was the main one. Going out all times of night and day. She just wanted him to stay home once in a while, tho I don’t know why. He pull out all mad and not looking where he’s going, and she’d be just standing there crying. Poor girl. And that child!” she shook her head sadly.

  “Anything physical?”

  “Not that I saw. If he had, I would have called the police. Man hitting woman makes me sick.”

  “Any visitors?”

  “Not that I saw. One time, Mr. Wilkinson down the street came in for about an hour. When he left, he had the look of a prisoner set free. I got the feeling that her or his friends didn’t get along with the other party if you know what I mean. Kept to themselves mostly.”

  “Thank you very much, Miss Johnson. One last question, could you ever hear what the fights were about?”

  “Not really. He seemed to want to be able to go wherever and whenever he wanted. A husband doing that just ain’t right.”

  I thanked her and walked back to the sidewalk. I stared at the house that was less than happy. You just wanted him to stay home once and awhile, didn’t you Gloria? Now he’ll never leave. His heart is where it belongs. Possible, but how? Confirm that he was to blame, then go back and tell Rach. Plan the next move then.

  RACHEL

  A text showed up on my phone shortly after lunch with Jake.

  'James couldn’t make lunch, dinner at Bambinos @ 7pm he'll pick you up at your place. -Karen'

  I had no choice but to go home early and start getting ready. If I had just said no to her then I wouldn't have to put up a charade. Now I was worried about Karen sending strange men to my house. I reminded myself that I could handle tough situations.

  Before I got home I stopped by the office. I had to dig up anything I could find on Joshua's son. We still had no real leads other than the will with his name scratched off of it.

  I searched for over an hour with every keyword I could think of. I came up short in every category. All I could find was the birthday of Joshua's son, he was roughly the same age as me and born about thirty minutes away, so he was a local. Everything else lead nowhere. He wasn't even on the grid and had likely never been in trouble.

  After about two hours of pointless research I made my way back home. I dug through my closet for an outfit that wasn't too suggestive and not too casual. Looking normal was what I wanted to present myself as. When I told him I wasn't interested I didn't want my appearance to suggest anything else. I settled on a plain black knee length dress with square neckline.

  My second earring was about to be put in when the doorbell rang. I checked my watch; I still had another hour before James was supposed to arrive. I rushed to the door frustrated. When I opened it, Jake was on the other side.

  Jake, stunned, looked at me from the other side his head bobbing up and down as he looked me over, "What the hell is this?!" He gaped.

  "Oh shut up I didn’t know I was meeting James today. I had to look somewhat decent; it's a date for heaven's sake." I retorted negatively.

  "A date? You're going out on a date right now?" He accused.

  "Well, yes, I wasn't going to blow it off, Karen pushed me and I agreed I would go tonight. And by the way, who was the one who made me go to the coroner's office!? You knew Karen is always trying to set me up!" I was already getting tired of trying to explain myself.

  "Ok may I humbly ask if you found anything on Joshua's son?"

  "No I didn't find squat, just a birthday and birth town." That really was the extent of my knowledge, I wasn't lying.

  "Well I'm so glad that you got just that much. While I'm out in the middle of BFE getting doors slammed in my face, you're in here picking out dresses! Great!" He was getting overly excited about nothing, a true melodramatic in every sense.

  As Jake stepped inside, a set of lights wavered around the living room across the walls and down the window frame. Someone was driving around out front, possibly James arriving early.

  Jake walked over to the window, moved the blinds to the side, and exclaimed, "Oh look you're dinner guest is here!"

  "Shut it Jake, enough already." I sneered. "I'm not even interested; this should be over soon so just deal with it." Jake peers through the blinds more rapidly before looking at me with a twisted grin.

  "What now Jake? What's with the stupid face?"

  "I take it all back," he says, “you’re the best detective in the world!" He threw his arms in the air.

  "
Really Jake? Cut the shit, what are you talking about?" He had me furious with his exasperated attitude.

  "Why don't you take a look? He's right there!" Jake pointed below us at the bottom of the stairs.

  Before both of us, James was walking up to the door and he was the same man from the pictures that Jake had collected. He was the son that was scratched out of the will.

  I couldn't be mad at Jake any longer; I was starting to panic myself. How could I have been so stupid? I knew I should have done more research as soon as Karen started telling me about James. For the first time I had let myself down and now I could be dining with a killer.

  Jake walked over to the door, a man's shadow appearing on the other side, he reached for the handle, "Well," Jake hesitated, "aren't you going to get the door?"

  JAKE

  Rach took a step away from the door as if it was some kind of dangerous animal. A knock sounded from the other side. I looked at her.

  “You’re going to have to answer it. He saw the lights and he probably passed the cars on his way up here.”

  “I…I can’t go out on a date with him. It’s unethical”

  “Not if you offer to pay. This is great actually. Give him a few glasses of wine, maybe a flirty look or two, and he’ll give it all up.”

  Doorbell now. James was persistent if nothing else.

  “You are not concerned in the least that I could be having dinner with a killer?” I shrugged.

  “Stay away from all cooking surfaces and you should be fine.”

  “It’s not funny Jake!” her voice had risen and I lowered my hand. Keep it down. Doorbell followed by knock. James was getting anxious.

  “Open the door, Rach,” I said with a smile, “If not, he’s going to think someone died in here.”

  She wanted to say something; it was all over her face. Instead, she walked to the door and opened it. I stepped back, wanting to hide for the moment. And get the best place to watch the fun.

  “James, hello,” I heard her say, “Please come in, just finishing getting ready.”

  “I thought I had the wrong house for a moment,” he said. They both laughed. Funny, funny. Rach came back into view and I got my first non-photographic look at James Buckstone. Good looking, about Rach’s age. 5’11, probably spent a good amount of time in the gym, but not enough to be built heavily. I could take him. He was wearing a dark green button up shirt and black pants. He was also wearing a big smile. It disappeared when he finally saw me. That was ok; I was smiling big enough for the both of us.

  “Um, hello,” he said with confusion. Rach quickly came up and stood beside me.

  “James, this is my coworker…” I stepped forward with my arm outstretched, big grin.

  “Jake Morningstar, pleased to meet you sir.” I shook his hand with gusto. He was so taken aback I don’t know what was going thru his head. I stepped back to my position and caught Rach looking like she wanted to jump out the nearest window.

  “I just had to drop off some paperwork for Rachel here. Thought I’d be gone before you got here. So what do you do James?”

  Rach stepped forward, wanting out.

  “I appreciate you dropping off the paperwork Jake. See you tomorrow.” I pointed to her left ear.

  “You might want to put the other earring in. Why don’t you get those emerald ones? It goes great with your eyes.”

  Said eyes were spitting out fire at the present moment. She turned, smiled at Jason, and then disappeared toward her bedroom. I turned to James. Well, my eyes said.

  “I’m a psychologist,” he said. I widened my eyes as if this was the most fascinating thing in the universe.

  “Study of the brain, that’s great. Listen, doc, can I have your professional opinion on something? I have these dreams about people dying. Sometimes I’m the one who kills them. What are your thoughts about dreams like that?”

  James thought for a moment, glanced at the spot where Rach had disappeared, and then turned back to me.

  “Death in dreams usually refers to some change that a person is processing. It very rarely means thoughts of murder or of dying in general. If they are bothering you, I would suggest seeing someone.”

  “You say rarely means, but it could be right? Like I could be standing around somewhere, talking to somebody I just met, and then..” I snapped my fingers; James actually flinched a few inches. “Snap, I could just go nuts.”

  “Very rarely,” he said, “Morningstar, that’s an interesting last name.”

  I laughed, just two pals talking.

  “Yes is it. My family had a little sense of humor.” His face was blank.

  “Morningstar, in Christian tradition, is the name of God’s favorite angel, the one that brought the morning star. Eventually, that angel revolted and was cast down.”

  His eyes got big. I nodded solemnly.

  “Morningstar, whose name translates to Lucifer, is my last name.”

  “So..so your name is..”

  “Jake the Devil”

  Rach came back. She was in fact wearing the earnings I had suggested. I handed her a coat and walked them out.

  “You two have fun, nice to meet you James.”

  When they both got in his car, they probably were glad to be gone. Mostly Rach was relieved to save herself the embarrassment, and Jason to get away from her maniac coworker. Rach would do the job and I made sure she felt safe by my tales to Jason. I felt bad lying to him however.

  I actually slept like a baby every night.

  RACHEL

  Bambino’s was a small Italian restaurant about twenty minutes away from my townhouse and we hit every green light making the trip shorter than usual. I was grateful for the speed because I wasn’t sure what to say to this man. We chatted idly about our days and Karen.

  James knew her through a mutual friend. He had seen the friend for some counseling after Karen had picked his name out of the phone book for her.

  I sat nervous in the front seat unsure of what I was supposed to ask James when we finally got to the restaurant. I couldn’t just start asking off the wall questions, he would be tipped off too quickly that I was accusing him of being a part of the recent murder and that wasn’t very lady like. The cards felt stacked against me and I just wanted to turn around and go home, play sick, anything to get me out of this situation.

  We were seated next to the windows in an awkward silence when James looked at me, “You’re coworker… he’s an interesting guy…,” he hesitated looking like I would lash out at his comment against Jake.

  “Yeah, he certainly keeps the office interesting.” I looked over my menu not really reading anything that was in front of me. I was only buying time to figure out what I needed say. Eventually I decided on pizza and a soda, not the best dinner but it would suffice.

  James put his menu down and looked across the table at me his eyes reflecting blue, popping out from the color of his shirt. His face was expressive and I found a certain masculine appeal about him. I hadn’t realized really who I was set up with in the rush of Jake prepping me for an interrogation. He put his hands on the table and moved in closer toward me, “You going to say anything while we’re here?” a smile drawn across his face.

  “Sorry,” I looked down, “I’m not very good at this, Karen has wanted me here for a while and she had no idea that I suck at dating.” At least I was being honest.

  “Well then, let’s back up,” he put his hand out, “Nice to meet you, I’m James.” I smiled and took his hand. “Nice to meet you James, I’m Rachel.”

  “Better?” he asked. “A little,” I admitted. Taking the pressure off of “dating” really did help my anxiety.

  “So what do you do for work?” James inquired. Right off the bat I was unsure how to manage his questions and for once it had nothing to do with being set up. If I told him that I was a detective he could speculate that I was only there to use him as suspect. If I chose to tell him a complete lie and he wasn’t a person of interest, there could never be any conn
ection between us.

  I couldn’t bring myself to be the liar, “I’m a detective,” I said casually. Now I hoped he didn’t just jump up and leave.

  “That has to be an interesting career. You must see a lot of…different people.”

  “If by different you mean crazy, then yes.” I laughed.

  “How did you get in to that profession?” he pushed.

  On the ride over here I had been trying to think of an opening. How was I going to ask about the problems he was having with his family? His charm was making it even harder to focus and now he had given me a way to find out what was going on.

  “I didn’t go to college for it if that’s what you’re asking. My family had quite a lot of other ideas for my path, so that didn’t help. What about you?”

  “Eh, my parent’s didn’t help with my schooling, I was on my own after high school so I made my own way.” His face had hardened slightly, I had the feeling I had struck a chord with him already.

  “Me too,” I said deciding to push him a little bit further. “What did your parents want you to be?”

  He laughed incredulously looking around the small restaurant. “Me? Oh, they wanted me to be a food service worker honestly. I was born to follow in their caste system. They wanted me to take over the family restaurant.”

  “Your family owns a restaurant?” I casually inquired. He let out a sigh before answering, the reluctance on his face, “Well… it’s that restaurant on the news right now… we own the Genghis K.”

  I attempted to look sympathetic, “The one where they found a body?”

  “Yeah, I’m surprised you weren’t asked to consult on it.”

  That statement stopped me dead in my tracks, I never saw that coming. I wasn’t sure how to respond, I didn’t want to be a liar. Sitting with a psychologist was hard. How did I know he wasn’t just playing me because he knows who I am? Could I really trust him? I decided to bluff.

  “I don’t know if they’ll call me to consult on that case, it seems to be a pretty major one.”