Lacey snatched the bill from her and spun on her heel. “Come on, Serena,” she said as she turned and blew Marc a kiss over her shoulder. “Be back soon, darling.” Her honey-dripped voice sent lethal sugar rushes shooting through Addie. Lacey flipped her hair and was off, Serena chasing her like a baby duck after its mother.
Marc heaved out a deep breath and looked down at Addie. “Don’t let her get under your skin. I grew up with her, and she can be, well, shall we say, overly dramatic most of the time.”
She pursed her lips and nodded, rolling a small stone under her foot.
“I mean it.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t let her get to you.”
“It’s not Lacey. I grew up with girls like her.” She bit her lip and looked up at him. “It’s just that, after everything that was printed about me in the paper, is it true that June was murdered?”
“Murdered?” He stepped back, frowning. “I don’t know . . . that’s still to be determined.”
“Why the crime scene tape, then?”
“Because any unexplained death is considered suspicious until proven otherwise, and this one . . . well, let’s just say this one has left me with a few questions.”
Her eyes widened. “Need any help?”
“No.” He rolled his eyes. “I do not, and you’d better promise not to go poking around in this.”
“But we make such a good team, right, partner?” She grinned, giving him a quick hip-check.
“Addie, I’m warning you. Stay away from this. Too many fingers have been pointed at you already, and if you go nosing around, you never know where else it will lead.”
She crinkled up her nose.
“Promise me?”
Her bottom lip quivered; the tone of his voice cut through her, and she weakly nodded.
“Good.” A smile dangled at the corner of his lips. “But I do have to run, they’re waiting for me. See you later?” He brushed strands of windswept hair from her eyes. She shrugged and gave him a tight-lipped smile. He exhaled a sharp breath, shook his head, and ducked under the yellow police tape, heading toward the young officer waiting for him.
Addie tapped her foot and glanced in the direction that Serena and Lacey had gone, and there Lacey was, standing beside Serena’s Jeep, her dagger-filled eyes staring back at Addie. Her arms were crossed, her long, slender legs planted firmly. She reminded Addie of a Norse warrior who was ready to do battle. Addie looked over at Marc, who was now talking with two more officers. When she glanced back toward the Jeep, it was gone, and all Addie saw were the taillights heading down Main Street.
She shifted her weight onto one hip and, surveying the taped area around this section of the park, noted that the open door of the shed appeared to be left unattended by officers. Slowly, she made her way through the crowd of onlookers to get as close as she could. She needed to get a peek inside. Thanks to Miss Nosy, this whole mystery seemed to involve her now, at least in the eyes of the townspeople. So, regardless of what she’d just implied, but not actually said, to Marc, she couldn’t let it go. After all, it was her reputation on the line, not his, and one quick look inside couldn’t hurt, could it?
Her eyes darted from one officer to the other as they swept the surrounding grounds with flashlights and metal detectors. She sucked in a deep breath, lifted the tape, and stopped. Jerry, one of the police officers, appeared in the shed doorway, his crime scene kit in hand. Addie drew back, her eyes locked on him. He glanced at his watch, wrote something in a notepad, and turned toward Marc, who was standing on the far side of the shed. “I’m all done in there, Chief,” he called, walking toward him. “I think we can let the utility company guys in now to check for damage.”
“Good work, Jerry. You can run what you have there over to the lab.”
Jerry nodded and headed toward the police station on the other side of the library.
That was all Addie needed to hear: it was no longer an active crime scene—at least that’s what she told herself as she ducked under the tape and sprinted through the open shed door. She screeched to a halt and grabbed the steel railing at the top of the small concrete catwalk inside the door. Her foot teetered over the edge of an opening to a set of stairs that looked more like a ladder, considering the angle of descent. She shuffled backward, gripping the handrail, and peered over the edge to the utility chamber twenty feet below. She sucked in a sharp breath, turned backward, and made her way down the industrial ladder to the bottom.
When her wobbly foot landed on cement, she turned around and realized that she was standing inside a chalk body outline. “Yuck,” she gasped, struggling to fill her air-deprived lungs. She bent over, hands on knees, and drew in deep, calming breaths.
“What are you doing in here?” Marc’s voice bellowed from above.
She gulped and looked up to the top of the stairs. “Hi.” She waved her fingers. “I, umm, well . . .” She stood upright, wincing. “It’s kind of a funny story.”
“You’d better start talking now.” He glided down the ladder like a firefighter might and stood in front of her, arms crossed, eyes blazing.
She shuffled from one foot to the other, avoiding eye contact with him because she knew exactly what his eyes would be telling her. “I heard Jerry tell you he was done in here and . . . well, it’s not really an active crime scene now, so I thought there would be no harm if I took a quick peek.” She cringed and looked up at him.
His feet planted firmly, he shook his head, his mouth taut. “You’re incorrigible, do you know that?”
She gulped.
“This is still off-limits until I clear it, do I make myself clear?” His guttural voice reverberated through the small chamber.
She blew out a breath that she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding and nodded. The whole thing started to feel a lot like when her father used to catch her with her hand in the cookie jar or reading under her blanket with a flashlight well after bedtime. Except she knew this might be a tad more serious, based on the tone of Marc’s voice.
“You promised me, Addie.”
She shuffled her feet and gazed down at the chalk outline. “Well, not really.” She bit her lip as she looked up into his fiery eyes. “I didn’t actually say I would stay away from this.”
His eyes flew wide open; his jaw snapped closed.
“Look, half the town accused me of knowing something about her disappearance, and how could I have? I never even knew this place existed.” She glanced around the chamber. “Where exactly are we?”
Marc blew out a deep breath. “This bunker is the entrance to the underground tunnels that allow access to the water, utility, and communication lines for all the essential services’ buildings. You know, for the police station, the hospital—and the library, too, since it was built on the site first.”
“I didn’t know that.” She craned her neck to see down a secondary opening.
“Not everyone does. It’s not something we want made public—fear of terrorism you know.”
Her brow furrowed. “Well, obviously June knew about it, and came in for some reason.” She rubbed her neck, looking down at the chalk markings. “She disappeared a couple of days ago. Was she here all this time? Why didn’t anyone know before now?”
“Because there was no reason to come in here until tonight, when a power surge issue was reported. Otherwise, the utility company follows a state-mandated routine maintenance schedule.”
“Why wasn’t it searched when she was reported missing?”
“The investigation team at the time tried the door and it was locked. They had no reason to believe that it might not have been earlier. No one except the utility company employees have a key. The entire area is kept pretty secure.”
“Not secure enough, I’d say.” She frowned looking down at the chalk drawing. “Who found the body?”
“One of the utility workers, when he came to check the power output.”
She shook her head, clicking her tongue. “I guess he found mo
re than he’d planned on.”
Marc nodded.
“If it’s kept so secure, are you thinking it was employee error that that led to her death, or”—she gulped—“that an employee murdered her?”
He scoured his fingers through his thick hair. “We’ve thought of that, but they are vetted pretty thoroughly, since it is a vulnerable area.”
“Did someone maybe lose a key?”
“Anything is possible at this point. A couple of officers are at the station interviewing all the utility company employees right now. We’re hoping to find out if someone forgot to lock up after they worked down there or if anyone lost their key and was afraid to report it or something.” He threw his hands up. “Let’s hope one of them admits to it though.”
“Yeah, if she did find a key, and then someone came back and locked the door, not checking to see if there was anyone inside first, their mistake may have caused someone to lose their life.”
“Exactly, because it would have been dark in here, and at first glance, it looks like she took a fall off the platform and fell down the ladder opening.”
“Yeah, I know how easily that could have happened, even with the lights on.” She shuddered. “But what would ever have possessed her to come in here in the first place?” Addie chewed on her bottom lip, scanning the chamber.
Marc’s brow creased. He studied her face for a moment and then turned back into RoboCop. “You’ve had your history lesson. Now can we go, before I get into trouble?”
“With whom, the chief?” She smirked, walking toward the tunnel entrance.
“Stop right there,” he snarled.
She spun around and glared at him. “Do not speak to me like I’m a child, thank you.”
“Then stop acting like one.”
“Look, it’s my reputation at stake here. Miss Newsy has already implicated me in June’s disappearance, so Lord knows what she’ll try and do with all this.” She waved her hand wildly in the air and pointed to the chalk outline.
His lips set in a tight line.
“Marc, I’m pleading with you. Since I’m already here, the least you could do is let me have a quick look around and ask a few questions. Unless, of course,” she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, “you plan on handcuffing me and carrying me up that ladder.”
His jaw tightened. He fumbled in the pocket inside his police-issue jacket and pulled out two paper shoe coverings and a pair of rubber gloves. “At least put these on.” He thrust them toward her.
Chapter Four
Marc stood over the chalk drawing, staring at it, and then looked up at the concrete platform, and then back at the body outline. Addie paced around the small utility tunnel access area, chewing on her bottom lip.
“You’re too quiet, and you’re doing that lip-chewy thing again,” he said. “What’s on your mind?”
She walked over and stood beside him, sighing heavily. “It’s just that . . . it doesn’t make sense, does it?”
He glanced sideways at her. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure, but so many things seem off about this whole scene.” She ignored his narrowed gaze. “Like, for example, why was the body removed so quickly? That’s not normal, is it? At least not in the murder movies I’ve seen.”
“Because I was supposed to have the night off and left orders not to be disturbed unless it was imperative. So I wasn’t called until Sam Bolton, one of the district medical examiners, insisted on removing the body as soon as he arrived on the scene.”
“But, but . . .”
“Just listen.” To the rhythm of her tapping foot, he continued. “He said it was obviously an accidental fall and that he was in the middle of his retirement party but was the only coroner available, so he wasn’t pleased about being called in and let everyone know it. He said he wanted to get back to his party so he could kiss this thankless job where the sun don’t shine and leave it behind.”
“So?”
“So, that’s when they called me. They couldn’t reason with him and hoped as chief that I’d have better luck.”
“Then why didn’t you stop him?”
“He and the body were gone by the time I got here. The team had been here awhile already examining the scene and dusting for prints—you saw Jerry finishing up, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “I guess that makes sense, but you did tell me once that as chief, you were always on duty. Shouldn’t they have called you as soon as the body was discovered? Isn’t that kind of an imperative reason to disturb you?”
He shook his head. “I’m not indispensable. Initial investigations can be conducted without me on scene.”
“I know, but—”
He placed his finger gently over her lips. “Shush. It’s the best explanation I can offer. My team is thorough. You know that. They wouldn’t have left any evidence unexamined.”
“You’re right. So, what did they say about the angle of the body? Broken neck, back, bruises, head injury, the distance of the body from the ladder and where it landed, what? Have you got anything?”
“All I know right now is this is where the body was discovered.” He pointed to the chalk outline. “She was face-down. Lots of facial bone damage from the impact, I assume, but we won’t know for sure until the coroner’s report. Her purse, containing her keys, was lying beside her. No cell phone was found and there’s been no other obvious evidence uncovered so far, and we won’t know anything else before the lab finishes running tests, and before you ask, the access door was locked.”
Addie turned. Her eyes focused on the concrete tunnel leading off the small room. “There has to be access to the utility corridors from the library, hospital, and police station, right?”
“All access points have been checked. They were all secured, from the inside.”
“Where does the tunnel end?”
“At the far side of the hospital. Why?”
“Is it a concrete wall? Brick? What?”
“What are you thinking?”
“Could anyone have tunneled in from the other side? A hidden door to a passageway maybe?”
“You and your hidden doors and passageways,” he snickered.
“Hey, as you discovered, they’re more popular than you thought they were.”
“Come on, I think we’ve seen all there is to see here tonight. Let’s go back to the station and grab some hot coffee. I want to see if any of the preliminary reports are in yet.”
“Sounds good. I’d kill for a cup of coffee right now.” She made her way cautiously up the ladder.
“Somehow, saying you’d kill for something while in the middle of a crime scene isn’t really appropriate,” he said with a chuckle, climbing up behind her.
“You’re right. All I need is for what’s-her-name to hear that.” She giggled and flung the shed door open, then came face-to-face with a set of steel-blue eyes.
“Well, well, Chief, what have we got here?”
“Lacey,” Marc roared, “how did you get past the police tape?”
“Don’t fret, Marc. I’m here on legitimate business.” She flashed a press pass.
“Press? You? Here? Why on earth would your viewers in Los Angles be interested in an East Coast small-town crime scene?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” she cooed. “I’m now a reporter for the Greyborne Harbor Daily News.” She smirked at Addie.
Marc’s face dropped, his neck veins throbbing. He took a step toward her. Through clenched teeth, he hissed, “Miss Davenport, the other side of the police tape, now”—he pointed—“and stay there.”
“Yes, sir.” She saluted him, smirking. “But rest assured, I’ll get my story somehow, Chief. You can’t stop the news.”
Marc grabbed Addie’s elbow and led her toward his patrol car in the library lot. “Damn that woman,” he muttered.
Addie winced. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” he snarled. “Sorry, no, I don’t. I thought I was rid of that she-devil for goo
d, but now?” His hand slammed the hood of his car. “Darn it. I opened one little door to try to be just a teeny bit friendly to keep Serena happy, and now she thinks . . . God only knows what she thinks.”
Addie took a deep breath, and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach when she saw the soulful pain in his eyes. She cupped his face in her hands. “Sometimes we have to face the demons from our past to make them vanish completely,” she whispered.
“You’re right.” He inhaled sharply. “And my demon will have to wait for now.” He glared back at Lacey, who was standing beyond the yellow police tape, fluttering her fingers at him in a waving motion. He turned toward Addie. “Time to get to work. I have a mystery to solve.”
* * *
Marc placed a steaming cup in front of her as she took her seat facing his desk. “Nothing’s back from the lab yet, and I don’t imagine Sam will get to the autopsy for a day or two anyway, especially if he is partying tonight.” He slumped into his leather desk chair.
“If he even bothers to do it, now that he’s officially retired,” she muttered as she sipped her coffee. “Mmmm, this is exactly what I needed, thank you.”
“Cheers.” Marc held up his cup and toasted. “Don’t worry, if Sam refuses to perform it, the DA will assign another coroner.”
“Can they do that? Assign someone who wasn’t at the scene?”
“Yup, Sam will have submitted his initial findings and it will all be on record, so the autopsy part can be conducted by any of the other coroners.”
She set her cup on the desk. “I hope he wasn’t in too much of a rush to do a proper visual inspection first, and it wasn’t just a matter of scoop and run.”
“Why would you say that?” Marc’s eyes narrowed and he set his coffee down. “Sam’s been with the county for over forty years. He’s as professional as they come.”
“I’m not questioning that. I just meant if he was partying—never mind, I’m just tired and cold, I guess.”
His lips tightened. “Well, I won’t know anything until we get some test results and the autopsy report, anyway.” He sighed. “Are you warmer now? Want me to take you home? It looks like it’ll be hours until the preliminary reports are ready.”
Prologue to Murder Page 3