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

by J. E. Mann

  “James…” I didn’t have the right answer for him, “I’m trying so hard to believe right now, but you’re not making this easy for me. I just want to hear the answers straight from you. Please remember that I’m just doing my job. Now, can you tell me anything about the where you were the night of the murder at your father’s restaurant?” A hardline set across his eyebrows as he sat staring at me.

  “I told you Rachel, I had nothing to do with that murder. I was out by myself, and of course there was no one there to prove it.” His statement seemed sketchy to me but I decided I would push anyway, I needed these answers. A heavily saddened look came across his face as he looked away for me and across the room; I looked up at two way mirror signaling that I was almost done with interrogation. Relief was across my face since we were almost done.

  “Fine James if no one was there to support an alibi for you then why can’t you tell me where you were?” His blue eyes darted back towards me and I could feel the tension rise between us, “Don’t you understand this could mean you get put in jail?” I hated to put him on the spot like that, but I had no choice. Suddenly, my temper boiled over and an unexplainable anger rushed over me, I was suddenly turning into the bad cop. My emotions were hindering my job for the first time since I had been employed. James looked reluctant to say anything else to me.

  “Can I go now?” James spoke in a low soft voice almost inaudible. Without water, my throat was dry and his reluctance led me nowhere. With a loud bang I smashed my opened hand onto the metal table startling the both of us; I didn’t feel like James was taking things serious. The stinging sensation that I felt in my hand was nothing compared to what I was feeling on the inside. “Dammit! No you can’t go! This is serious James! I have to know where you were that night; it could mean everything for this case, for you. If you need to hear an apology from me, then fine.”

  I lean forward hesitantly awaiting his next bit of information. He finally turned to face me with heavy downward lines streaking along his face

  Maintaining a professional appearance was difficult as I fought the urge to reach out and hold his hands. I had never been on the other side of an interrogation so I couldn’t understand how hard it was.

  I hesitated; I wasn’t sure what to say to James so I gave him my best professional farewell. “Thank you James for your time,.” I began to clear my papers and I realized they were only there to distract me. James had already stood up and with a wave of his hand in my face he was dismissing me, already with his back toward me. Shakily I stood, my legs felt like they were going through mud, unable to move any faster. I stared down at the floor as I walked to the doorway. Had it really been two months since the murders started? Where did the time go? Dumbfounded I made my way back to a makeshift cubicle that Ben had been letting me borrow. Many things raced through my head about how involved James and I had become. Two months was a short time to claim to fall in the love with someone.

  Rodriguez met me in between the rooms in the hall. “Well, that could have gone better.” He put his arm on my shoulder in a sympathetic motion. “Care to explain this relationship?” He was pushing my buttons; this was none of his business. “No, I can’t say that I do want to explain it.” Rodriguez sensed my bad mood and quickly released me. “Look Rachel, I know this is your business but this could implicate you as well. I would consider… letting the sleeping dog lie if you know what I mean.” His words resonated in my head as I walked the rest of the way to my desk

  A slight uproar began at the front of the building and I looked up to see why everyone was talking. My face felt red and hot so I hurried a look before sitting back down. There was no surprise when I heard Jake’s voice rumble through the room. He wasn’t the nicest guy there, but he had a knack for drawing attention. I knew he was looking for me when I could smell the stench of smoke surround me. A shadow enclosed my cubicle and I slowly looked up at him, “Hey Rachel! What did you find out?” He didn’t realize who he was messing with at this point.

  “Find out? Oh I found out a lot!” My voice was rising as I let go of my anger. This was his fault after all. Jake stood in front of me with a smug look in his hands in his pockets. He must have felt really big to show up at Ben’s place of work. I expected some type of impromptu fight to break out after I was done with him. His eyebrows slightly rose in anticipation of my new found clues; sadly I wasn’t going to give him any information. He rocked on his heels as he waited, “Well?”

  I let him simmer waiting for an answer from me and it helped me get a grip on what I wanted to do. I didn’t care if it cost me my job, or the best help I’ve ever had in investigating. Just as I was about to make a bad decision I decided not to. I rushed past Jake out into the hall and he immediately almost completely behind me. I wanted to reach out and push him away but I halted and turned on him. With an outstretched hand I smacked him with all the force I had. His face turned a deep shade of red and I could see an imprint of my hand. A small line of blood trickled down his cheek from where one of my rings had cut him. Jake stood emotionless not saying a word as I turned, gathered my things and headed towards the door.

  JAKE

  I stood looking at Genghis K. The restaurant was still not open, but I believed that eventually people would come back. It would probably take a new remodel, some fresh paint, and maybe new name, but eventually people would be sitting and eating. I had always been amazed that people could forget or ignore the terrible things that happened in their city. I wasn’t there to look for any new clues. I was just looking for something that I overlooked. Murder was something that could be done very easily, but rarely had ever been done perfectly. Whoever killed Steve and the other two victims had to of made a mistake somewhere.

  I heard footsteps coming up behind me. I didn’t turn around; my attention was fixed on this first scene of the crime.

  “If you’re waiting for the lunch hour, I think you’re in for a long wait.”

  It was Abby. She was wearing a dark blue running suit. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she removed a pair of ear buds as she talked. She didn’t look like a stripper, but it would take a blind person not to realize that she was still extremely hot.

  “Hey Abby, no work tonight?”

  She shook her head. “Not for the next two nights. It’s cool, I can use a break.” There was a pause and suddenly I felt her hand gently stroke my cheek. “Jesus Jake! You get cut by a knife?”

  I turned and looked at her. “No, I got slapped. The hand who slapped me was wearing a very large ring.”

  “Who did that?”

  “Doesn’t matter, I deserved it.”

  We sat in silence for a while. A horn blew from somewhere on the busy street to the left of us. I had tried calling Rach three times since yesterday. It was still going to voicemail, so she hadn’t blocked me yet. I had gone by the office unexpectedly, hoping to catch her. She wasn’t there. I had begun to wonder if I even had a job anymore.

  “You ever think about fate Abby?”

  “Do you mean God? I believe there is something that we can’t see that looks out for us.”

  “So you believe in the divine plan. That everything you do or say or what happens to you is all according to a plan that God created billions and billions of years ago.”

  She thought about this for a moment and then shook her head. “I go back to the beginning of the Bible. The serpent gave the Eve the fruit of knowledge which I think is really just free will. God wants to do everything for us so we don’t suffer, but can’t. He intervenes on our behalf and tries to show us what the good path is, but in the end we have to make the choice.”

  I thought about this for a moment. In all my years of hearing about God, this stripper seemed more informative than all the preachers and priests put together.

  “I just think about,” I said “all the times that I’ve helped somebody. When Rach and I catch a killer, did we catch the killer or did God, Buddha or fate just decide that it was time that we catch the killer?
If the latter is true, then we’re all just chess pieces being moved around the board.”

  “Jake, did you get some bad news from a doctor today?”

  I chuckled. I turned around and started to walk back toward my car. Abby followed me.

  “I’m sorry if I interrupted your running,” I said. Abby waved me off.

  “I was going to take a break anyway. So what exactly did you do or say to Rachel to make her slap you?”

  I stopped walking and looked at her. I found it strange that all of the women in my life seem to be detectives.

  “How did you…”

  “It wasn’t hard Jake. You think that when you get a parking ticket it’s personal. And yet whoever slapped you gets a pass because you say you deserved it? Had to be Rachel. So what did you say to her?”

  “The truth. And I should’ve kept my big mouth shut.”

  My phone started ringing in my pocket. I looked at the screen and saw a number I didn’t recognize. I also saw that I had about 20% battery life left. I would have to charge it when I got the chance. I pushed the answer button and put the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?”

  The voice on the other end was gruff and not immediately recognizable. “Jake, this is Tim from the Hungry Hummingbird.”

  The Hungry Hummingbird was a very popular bar near downtown. It had good prices and seemed to always be full. What it didn’t have was food, which always made me think that the name was either ironic or just not very well thought out.

  “Hey Tim. Something wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Rather I don’t think so. You know that girl you came into this place with a few times?”

  “Rachel?”

  “Yeah that’s her. She’s about six barstools down and she’s got the look of somebody who really wants to get drunk. Ordered a Long Island iced tea and drank it in about two minutes. Ordered another which took three minutes to finish. She wants another one and I’m calling you.”

  Rach was drinking? It had to be just past noon. When Rach drank, she drank fruity drinks like cosmopolitans and never until after the sun went down. What the hell was she doing there?

  “She say anything?”

  “Her order. Other than that she’s being really antisocial.”

  I sighed and looked at Abby. She raised her eyebrows in a questioning gesture. I shook my head to tell her it wasn’t serious.

  “Tim, can you make a regular nonalcoholic iced tea and tell her it’s a Long Island?”

  “Sure can.”

  “Okay do that. She is cut off, but don’t tell her she’s cut off. I’ll be down in about ten minutes.”

  “You got it Jake.”

  I clicked off and looked at Abby. “Rach has decided that this would be the perfect day to start developing a drinking problem.”

  “You want me to come with you?”

  “Nah. Rach would probably slap my other cheek if the first time she met you she’s blind.”

  Abby squeezed my shoulder and I walked over to the driver seat of my car. As I opened it, I heard her speak my name. I paused and looked up.

  “Whatever happened to those two brothers you were asking about?”

  I smiled. “I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to.” I got into my car and headed for the Hungry Hummingbird.

  RACHEL

  Long Islands were great for getting completely plastered. After seeing Jake, it was all I could think about. Anything to take away the turmoil I was feeling was fine by me. I had only had one drink so far but it was enough to jumpstart my afternoon and my night. My extremities were already tingling and weightless and my mind wandered further and further away from James.

  The bartender handed me the next drink I had ordered. “Here you go ma’am.” He nodded and moved aside to help the next customer. I eagerly began chugging on the straw and had a few gulps down before the bitterness bit me in the throat. Choking was an understatement. The bartender came back and offered his assistance when I finally stopped.

  “I’m sorry,” I began as I sucked in more air trying to stabilize myself, “there is no alcohol in this drink.” There were many reasons why I became closed off when I drank and one of those reasons was because I became so loud. The man’s face scrunched as I spoke to him and he quickly became agitated with me.

  “I assure you there is alcohol in there, I made it myself.”

  I reached out and attempted to grab my glass and missed. The previous Long Island I had was starting to really sink in making my nervous system weak. “Well, feel free to taste it then and tell me,” a hiccup escaped me midsentence but I acted like I didn’t even notice, “tell me, what’s wrong with this.” After a quick thought I decided to point at the glass instead.

  He looked at the glass and back at me, “No can do ma’am. I assure you it’s correct.” Apparently there wasn’t an option to make a new one because he walked away to someone else. Feeling stuck, I sat on my barstool and hovered around my glass. If I was paying for the drink I might as well drink it.

  The room began to spin the longer I sat there. My mind also wandered in an out of random thought. I was still dwelling on James yet still wanted to work. Math problems swirled in my head and strange combinations of television characters meeting each other for the first time entertained some of my thoughts, but I always came back to James. Were we truly done? I didn’t see how he could forgive me and I didn’t think I would ever be able to forgive myself.

  Speaking of forgiveness, Jake was at the bottom of the list. “How dare he!” I said aloud scaring myself. I looked around to make sure I really had spoken. The guy next to me looked at me questioningly and I gave him the best cheeky smile I could before he looked frightened and went back to his own drink. At least he had friends to keep him company.

  My eyes wandered around the room and I focused on the band. They weren’t the best around but the music was sinking in and I could feel the bass in my bones as I tried to relax. Having a rhythm helped my thoughts until someone familiar crossed my line of vision. I choked down some more of my bitter drink before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

  “Excuse me,” they said from behind “may I join you?” I didn’t want trouble but I turned around fearing what I had seen only a few moments before.

  “What Jake? Why the hell are you here?” Now was not the time to be polite and private. I wanted to fight. He grabbed my wrist as I reared back to hit him again, “Not here,” he said sternly. I sighed and turned back around to my drink. If I couldn’t hit him I would try to ignore him.

  “Go away Jake.” If he could be an ass then so could I. Life was a series of doors right? And I didn’t have to open them if I didn’t want to, right? At least I made sense to me.

  “Come on Rach, tell me what’s on your mind, tell me how you really feel.”

  A chuckle escaped my lips. I wasn’t sure if the laughter was appropriate, but Jake was a lot funnier the drunker I got. “Go to hell Jake.”

  “You have to be more specific boss. You mean the Christian hell or just some place hot and dry?”

  “I don’t give a damn Jake, just go.” I didn’t have to explain anything to him and he knew it.

  He stood staring down on me with his arms crossed, scolding me like a child. I was an adult and I could handle myself. I didn’t even know why he decided to show up. After a few minutes of his constant stare beating down on me I finally turned, “What are you doing here?”

  With a smug smile he responded, “You’re drinking and the sun hasn’t gone down yet.”

  Surprisingly Jake hadn’t figured it out. Really? For all of the work we had done together and the time I needed him to understand what was going on, was the moment he decided he would play stupid. Was he really playing stupid? I hated it when people tried to get me to talk when I didn’t care for the company.

  Something told me though; maybe I was the person in the wrong. Maybe we needed to just fight it out and get this over with. Between the alcohol making my head spin and the anger I felt
, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hit him again and call us even, or puke.

  “So what Jake? I’m an adult, I can drink!” His hand shot passed my head to the gentleman beside me. “Hey, can I have this seat? Things are pretty serious here.” He continued to pull the man from his seat and replaced the space with his own body. The man, probably also too drunk, grumbled but moved avoiding a fight.

  My glass was sliding away from me when I realized Jake was taking my glass. “Hey! No!” I screeched at him. Apparently taking my glass was a line that he had crossed. Jake laughed and continued to take it anyway. He wagged a finger at me, “Uh, uh, uh, not until you start using your words.”

  If he wanted words I was going to give him some words, or I would steal his wallet and make him for pay for the drink he had stolen. Either way, something was happening. A wave of hatred washed over me that second. I was starting to come around to why he was truly there.

  Before I thought about my words they fell out of my mouth, “Give me back my drink you knife!” I wobbled a little in my exacerbation but caught myself. “Knife?” His eyes had gone wide and I felt he was trying to hold back laughter which only made my agony worse.

  “I meant knave…knave Jake… knave.” My head shook side to side as I tried to throw away the mistake I had made.

  “Well I guess you told me Rach. Before you start composing an angry sonnet, finish this sentence for me. I am drinking because…” His arms were crossed again and I contemplated stealing my drink back but he followed my gaze and soon began guarding the glass.

  My face felt hot again and not from the alcohol this time. “Why does it matter Jake? You’re the one that landed me here so you can sit and deal with it.”

  “Rach, you’re the one who wasn’t certain that James wasn’t completely innocent. Your rules specifically have always been, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you have to have one hundred percent certainty with no speculations…ever. You don’t have to punish yourself because you couldn’t accept ninety percent.”