by Cindy Bell
His words reminded her of her thoughts about being alone. Who would be there to help Joyce? She wouldn’t have anyone to call a lawyer for her, or walk her into the station. She would be able to handle things on her own.
“No Charlie, really. I love you, and I appreciate you wanting to offer me support, but I can handle this on my own. I promise. If something comes up I will call you right away. But like you said, this is simple, it will be cleared up quickly. There’s no reason for you to lose any time at work.”
“Are you sure?” He sighed. “I don’t know about this. I’m very concerned.”
“I know, so am I, but I will be fine. I love you, Charlie, and I can’t wait to see you. But your work is important, and if you get behind then we might not be able to have the Christmas we hoped for, all together, relaxing, and nobody working. Remember last year?”
“Yes,” he grumbled. “I missed my deadline and had to work through Christmas morning and dinner. I know, I know. I felt awful for ruining the day for us.”
“You didn’t ruin the day for us, silly.” She smiled some as she recalled how wonderful he had been. “Sophie was sick, really sick, and I’d been up with her for three days straight. You had your deadline, but I was so exhausted that I couldn’t stay awake, and so you took over for me. You stayed up with her all night and tried to write at the same time, but it didn’t work out. You gave your all for our family, Charlie, and I can do the same, if you give me the chance. I want our Christmas to be relaxing and enjoyable for all of us this year, and that means you having the time to get your work done, and me handling this on my own is the best way that we can make sure that happens. So don’t fight me on it, I’m perfectly capable of handling it.”
“I know you are. I really do. I just hate that you have to deal with it on your own. If anything comes up, anything at all, I want to be the first number you dial. Got it?”
“Yes.” She smiled at his words. “I’ll make sure.”
“I’m going to try to get some time to meet up with you tomorrow night. I need to see you.”
“All right, we’ll make sure that happens. For now, you focus on your stories, and I’ll focus on getting some sleep. Okay?”
“I love you, Bren.”
“I love you, too.” As she hung up the phone she discovered that she didn’t feel quite as confident as she implied over the phone. In fact, she was scared. What if she couldn’t handle hiring a lawyer and going into the station? What if she did or said something wrong that somehow made her more of a suspect? She hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but she knew it could always be a possibility. She hadn’t exactly been accused of a crime before. She considered waking Joyce to tell her the news, but she decided to let her sleep instead. In the morning there would be a lot to face, at least she deserved one more peaceful night’s sleep. As she crawled into bed, her stomach twisted and turned with dread. Now that she knew that it wasn’t simply Jerry’s time, as everyone’s time came eventually, this had just become a whole lot more serious.
Chapter 7
Joyce’s eyes fluttered open slowly. It was hard for her to recall exactly why she was annoyed, but she knew for certain she was. In fact, she was more than annoyed, she was upset. As the memory of the day before began to filter back through her mind, she realized it was because her truck was locked up, and Detective Crackle had proven to be an extremely difficult man. Since she didn’t have to be up early to open up the truck she considered staying in bed for a few minutes. She had nothing pressing to deal with, other than trying to mend fences with the detective in order to put Brenda’s mind at ease. However, she soon heard the clanging of dishes in the kitchen and could smell the scent of coffee in the air. Brenda was up, and she was preparing some breakfast, more than likely for both of them.
After a quiet groan into her pillow she pulled herself up out of bed. There were a few more aches and pains in her body than there used to be, but they were usually eased by her new tradition of performing yoga. That morning, she simply wasn’t in the mood. Instead she wanted to grab a cup of coffee, eat whatever delicious food Brenda was making, and enjoy a quiet morning together with the woman she considered to be her close friend. As she passed the window in her room she noticed that the sky was quite gray. The weathermen had been falling all over themselves trying to predict when the first snow would be. It was embarrassing to watch, as each day they squeaked out their predictions, only to have them proven wrong. She looked forward to a bit of snow, but preferred nothing more than a dusting. On her way into the kitchen she checked on the laundry she’d done the night before. There would be clothes to fold, but they could wait. When she reached the kitchen she was greeted by the most delicious scent.
“Oh, you made cinnamon sugar donuts, didn’t you?” Her mouth watered as Brenda turned to face her.
“Yes, I did.” She smiled, but her smile faltered.
“Mm, thank you so much. That is just what I need this morning.” She sat down on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. “So, what had you up so early and baking?”
“There’s something I need to tell you, Joyce, something very serious.” She set one of the donuts on a plate and put it in front of Joyce. “Maybe you should have some coffee first.”
“No, what is it?” Her mind became sharp as she sensed the urgency in Brenda’s voice. “What’s happened?”
“I spoke to Charlie last night. He got some information from a crime reporter, about Jerry’s death.” She braced herself for Joyce’s reaction.
“What information? Out with it, girl! You’re scaring me.” Joyce’s eyes widened. What could it possibly be? That he did not die of natural causes? She hoped that was not the case.
“He was poisoned.” Brenda’s eyes widened.
“What? He must be pulling your leg. Poison takes days to identify. I’m sure it’s some kind of mistake.” Her heart began to pound faster. It had to be a mistake. There was no other explanation for what happened.
“No, it’s no mistake. Charlie said that Jerry still had some of the food on his teeth and lips and from what they could identify they believe it was poisoned. They are just waiting for confirmation.” She swallowed hard. “I have no idea what to think, but Charlie was certain the police would want to speak with us. He said I should hire a lawyer and go into the station to speak with the detective. I’ve already started making some calls this morning, but none of the offices are open yet.”
“A lawyer, yes.” Her head spun as the new information began to settle in. “Brenda, you should have told me this as soon as you knew! Where’s my phone? I need to call my lawyer right this second.” She stood up from the bar stool and tied her robe tighter around her body. Her muscles were tense as she thought of where this information might lead.
“I know I should have told you, but I didn’t want to wake you. I figured we’d have time to handle everything this morning. I’ll pour you some coffee.” She reached for the coffee pot just as there was a loud knock on the front door.
Both women froze. In that moment they were thinking the same thing.
“Who could that be?” Joyce’s throat grew dry as she spoke. She knew exactly who it would be.
The knock came again, louder this time. Joyce knew that anything she did to hinder the investigation from this point on would only make her look more guilty. If it was the police there to arrest her and she didn’t open the door, then they would consider her uncooperative.
“Joyce, maybe you should answer.” Brenda squeezed her hands together in a tight knot. “I don’t think they’re just going to go away. It can’t be the police. Charlie said I could just walk in with a lawyer and…”
“And he didn’t take Detective Crackle into account. That man is like a pit bull with a raw steak.” She grimaced at her own imagery and walked hesitantly to the door. As she reached up to smooth out her hair and adjust the collar of her robe, she realized that it would be the first time a man had seen her in her robe, since her husband had passed away. It was not
exactly revealing, but that wasn’t the point. It still felt inappropriate. Just before she reached for the knob, the person outside knocked again, so hard that she jumped in reaction to the sound. Annoyed, she jerked the door open and stared into a pair of familiar brown eyes.
“Detective.”
“Joyce.” He took a step forward before she could close the door. “I need to speak with you. And you as well.” He looked past her, to where Brenda stood a few steps behind Joyce.
“All right, come in.” Joyce stepped back and held the door open for him.
“Thank you.” He swept his gaze around the house briefly, then looked back to Joyce. “As I suspected, Jerry’s death was a homicide. We have evidence that supports that.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Joyce wrapped her arms around her robe to hold it shut even though the sash was already doing a very good job.
“As was I.” He looked between the two of them. “I’m hoping that you can help me figure out exactly what happened here.”
“Anything we can do to help, we’re more than happy to,” Brenda stammered out her words. She was nervous about speaking to him without the lawyer that Charlie had advised.
“Great. You can start by telling me where you were, the night before yesterday.” He pulled out his notepad.
“We were here.” Joyce gestured to the living room. “Right in there.”
“Alone?” He made a note.
“Yes, alone.” She frowned. “Well, we were here together, but alone.”
“I understand.” He turned his attention to Brenda. “Did you see anyone else, or speak to anyone? Did you order food or anything?”
“No, we just hung out.” Brenda frowned. “We had dinner here. I cooked.”
“I can see why. That smells delicious.” He nodded towards the kitchen.
“Thank you.” She lowered her eyes.
“So, what you’re telling me is that neither of you have an alibi after you left the donut truck the night before Jerry died and when you arrived the following morning?” He made another note.
“We don’t need an alibi, Detective. We had nothing to do with his death.” Joyce frowned. “I know that you are grieving the loss of your friend, and you want to find answers, but we’re not going to be able to provide any.”
“Maybe you can.” He tapped the eraser of his pencil against the notepad. “After some analysis we believe that Jerry was poisoned. The poison was a white powder that was found amongst some glaze. Not unlike the glaze that is used on a donut.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you two know anything about that?”
“No, of course not.” Brenda bit into her bottom lip.
“Not at all. How could we?” Joyce sighed. “What a shame. I hope you figure out what happened to him, Detective, I really do.”
“Here, would you like a cinnamon donut?” Brenda hurried to the kitchen and returned with a plate full of them. “Take a few.”
“Uh, no thanks.” He eyed the donuts as if he would devour the entire plate given the chance, but still shook his head. “I’ll be in touch, ladies.” He turned and walked out of the house. Joyce hurried to close the door behind him.
“Lock it.” Brenda grabbed at the counter of the island as she watched Joyce turn the lock on the door.
“It’s all right, Brenda, he’s gone now.” Joyce turned back to face her.
“I’m sorry, I’m so spooked. Did you see the way he refused the donuts? He must have thought they were poisoned! I am so worried now.” She bit into her bottom lip. She was sure that a woman as strong as Joyce couldn’t understand why she would be so frightened by the detective’s visit.
“I’m also worried.” Joyce walked towards her. Though she claimed to be scared, her stride was strong, and her narrowed eyes were sharp as ever. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to walk into my home, and speak to me like that. I’ll tell you this, right now, he’s going to learn who exactly he is dealing with. I am not backing down on this. Not one bit.”
“I believe you.” She chewed on her lip as her heart raced. “But like he said, we don’t have any alibi other than each other. That doesn’t exactly bode well for us. I mean, everyone knows that we had trouble with Jerry, more than trouble. We came close to calling the police on him. So, him being found dead in our truck is just going to make people believe that we were definitely involved. And if people believe that, then what is to stop the police from believing that? I mean really, Joyce, we could end up in prison for this for the rest of our lives. I’ll never get to see Sophie grow up, and poor Charlie will have to be a single parent. I mean, I’m sure he could handle it, but how awful is it that he will have to? And how am I going to handle being in prison? It’s not as if I am tough, or strong, in any way. I mean, I don’t think I’m going to survive it. I know it’ll kill me to be away from Sophie and…”
“Brenda!” Joyce clapped her hands sharply and looked straight into her eyes. “Listen, take a breath. You’re getting way too far ahead of yourself. We’re not going to prison, that’s not going to happen.”
“How do you know that?” Brenda wiped at her eyes. “I already messed this up, I never should have waited to tell you about this. If I’d woken you up last night, we could have made a plan, and maybe even fled the state and…”
“Brenda.” Joyce put her hands on her shoulders. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. Okay? You have to calm down. You are stronger and tougher than you think, but panic is not going to do us any good right now. We have to push through this, and make the right choices. You need to have a clear head to do that.”
“I don’t think I can.” Tears filled her eyes as she looked back at Joyce. “I just want to run, I don’t think I can handle this.”
“Yes, you can.” She tightened her grasp on her shoulders. “You have to. You don’t want to lose Sophie, do you?”
“No, no absolutely not.” She closed her eyes to hold back fresh tears. “I’ll do absolutely anything not to lose her.”
“Okay, the first step is to calm down. Breathe with me, all right?” She took a long, slow breath.
“I’ll try.” She breathed in as slowly as she could. Only then did she notice just how fast she had been breathing. Joyce was right, she had been panicking. “I’m sorry.” She breathed in again, and a few more times, before her heart finally began to settle.
“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s normal to be frightened when someone barges in and accuses you of a crime you didn’t commit. But we have to keep our wits about us. Detective Crackle is not one to back down. The important thing is that we have the truth on our side. We are innocent, we had nothing to do with Jerry’s death.”
“Yes, I know. But, the police don’t know that. And, I’ve seen so many stories about innocent people being convicted of murder. I just don’t want to be one of them.” She took another breath.
“I know, I don’t either. So, we can’t just sit here and wait for it to happen. Our best defense is a good offense.” She smiled as she pulled her hands away from Brenda’s shoulders and began to pace through the kitchen.
“That sounds good, but what exactly does it mean?” She tilted her head to the side as she studied Joyce, who seemed cat-like in her movements.
“What it means is, we need to find out who actually killed Jerry. It’s the only way to make sure that we don’t become victims in this. As long as we find the real killer, Detective Crackle can’t put us behind bars, no matter how much he may want to.”
“You’re right. That’s perfect.” Brenda nodded, relieved to have a goal to focus on. “But how are we going to do that? I mean, I have no idea who killed Jerry. Do you?”
“No. But I have some suspects in mind.” Joyce raised an eyebrow.
“You do? Who?” Brenda joined her as she headed for the couch.
“I think Orville would be one. He was fired by Jerry recently, right?” She sat down on the couch.
“Yes, it was very messy. He could definitely have motive to kill Jerry.” She pull
ed out her phone and began to make a list on it. “And maybe the other employees that work there?”
“Yes, they are a possibility, too. I think the more questions we ask, the more suspects will surface. We’re going to have to get to know Jerry very well. Who his family was, who his friends were.”
“Detective Crackle is one of them, right?” Brenda scrunched up her nose. “I can’t see the two of them hanging out together.”
“Oh, I can. After I saw the way he treated us today.” She rolled her eyes. “But that does mean that Jerry is capable of friendship, which means he might have had other friends. It could have been a family member, too. Maybe someone finally snapped.”
“Yes, but keep in mind, where he died. It was on our truck. I can’t help but think someone was trying to send us a message.”
“It’s possible. But who would want to send us a message like that?” Joyce cringed. “I don’t think anyone I know would want to do that. What about you? Do you have some skeletons in your closet that would warrant this?”
“No. Not that I know of anyway.” She shook her head. “I guess you’re right, it would be a bit of a stretch to believe that someone intentionally killed him and left him there. Unless, maybe the killer was trying to frame us?” Her eyes widened. “That’s possible, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But it could also have been a crime of convenience. If he was poisoned, it could have been slow-acting, and he just happened to be there when he died. Or the killer might have come upon him there, and given him the poison, so that is where he died.” She tapped her chin lightly with a fingertip. “Yes, I think that could be a possibility.”
“Oh, no, I just thought of something!” Brenda clasped a hand over her mouth.
“What, what is it?” Joyce scooted closer to her on the couch.
“Remember what we saw when we first arrived at the truck? Before we found Jerry?” She closed her eyes as she recalled the moment. “There were broken eggs all over the ground.”
“Oh, my goodness, yes there were.” She sat forward. “Do you think that Aaron might have something to do with it? Why would he want Jerry dead?”