Not a Mermaid
Page 12
“Standing killed Lana Forrester.”
Perez stood in the bathroom doorway, wearing the clothes I had put out for her.
“Do you know that for sure, or do you just think he did?”
“I didn’t see him do the deed, if that’s what you’re asking. But he doesn’t have an alibi for that night. Not really.”
“He was on duty, wasn’t he? They can track the car, his phone, GPS and stuff, right? They would know if he wasn’t where he said he was.”
“Just because he was on duty, doesn’t mean he was where he said he was. Or where the technology said he was. Technology can be tricked and manipulated. GPS can be turned off.”
“So you’re saying he ditched his car and went to Lana’s house, in the pouring rain, drugged her dog, killed her, and somehow got her body to the bayou, all without anyone seeing him?”
“He could have used a second car. Parked his cruiser somewhere innocent, said he was taking a meal break, and then used another car to get to Lana’s and do the deed.”
“But his personal car is a two-seater Audi. Not so good for bad weather driving, let alone transporting and dumping a body.”
“It could have been some other car. He could have... he could have stolen one. If an old beater car or van was stolen from somewhere near wherever Standing took his dinner break, it might not have been noticed and wouldn’t have LoJack or some other tracking device...”
“Or borrowed!” I said. “He could have just used it and put it back where he found it, and the owner never reported it stolen, because it wasn’t. Not really. They probably never even noticed it was gone.”
“Can I have a beer?” she asked after a minute.
“Um, yeah. Of course.” I went to the kitchen to get her one.
“Are you expecting Petreski tonight?” she asked when I handed her the bottle.
“No. Why?”
“I don’t want him to know we were talking about this.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. No, he’s not coming over as far as I know, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep from telling him about this, you know?”
“Right.”
“So... About Standing killing Lana. You got anything more than a theory? It’s a great theory, but it’s not evidence.”
She took a long pull on the beer before answering. “Just my gut. But I think it’s worth looking at where his car was, and where his phone was, that night.”
“But, if Standing killed Lana, who killed Standing?” I asked.
“Good Samaritan?”
I snorted.
She stood, putting the empty bottle on the table, and walked back to the bathroom.
“Just to make things clear,” she said before pushing the door almost closed, “this does not mean we are friends now.”
After she left I rolled the clothes she had worn inside a used towel and stuffed them into the laundry bag beneath some dirty clothes, to make sure Petreski’s sensitive nose didn’t notice that she had been here wearing my clothes. I had nothing to feel guilty about, but sometimes Petreski asks too many questions.
Don Has an Admirer
The next morning I was surprised to find myself looking forward to meeting Dani at the park. I didn’t even object when she headed east along the bayou, towards where Don and I had found Clarence Wilton’s body a few months before.
I was also surprised by the thought that I wanted to introduce Dani to Miss Nancy. I don’t know where that thought came from, but I had learned by now to trust my instincts and go where they told me.
“Dani,” I gasped when we stopped at the edge of the trail where some sadist had installed a pull-up bar, “I have a friend I want you to meet.”
“Does he need to get in shape, too?”
Too? What was that “too” supposed to mean? “No. I mean, I can’t really say, but that’s not why I want you to meet her.”
“Sorry. Her. So why do you want us to meet, then?”
“Well, this is going to sound weird, but I’ve just got this feeling you two should meet.”
“Some kind of cosmic nudge?” she asked, pointing at the pull-up bar. “Try for five.”
“Ugh.” One.
“Do... Don’t...” Two.
“Mock. Ugh.” Three.
“Unh...” Fourish.
“The cosmic... nudge,” I finished from where I sprawled on the grass.
“So who’s this friend of yours, then?” she asked, looking down at me.
“Her name is Miss Nancy. She’s, like, the wisest person I know.”
“Not Miss Nancy the spiritualist?” She looked interested now.
“I guess so. You know her?”
“No, but I’ve heard of her. There are a few women in this one Pilates class I teach that I’ve heard talk about her. They’ve heard about her, but haven’t been able to get an appointment to see her.”
“They probably won’t. Miss Nancy is... particular. I’ve never figured out how her schedule works.” Women who gossiped in Pilates classes were not Miss Nancy’s type.
“But how do you know her?”
“Friend of the family. She was my babysitter when I was a kid.”
“And you want me to meet her? Why?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, it’s just a feeling. And I have recently learned that it’s best to take those feelings seriously.”
She studied me for a minute, biting her lip, before answering. “I’ll make you a deal. You manage five on Wednesday and I’ll meet your Miss Nancy.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I hoped she’d move on and let me rest for a while and then stagger home, but she took her job more seriously than that. We finished the forced march and parted ways in the parking lot. She drove off in her sporty SUV and I trudged home, getting soaked when the skies opened up again.
I told myself to stop thinking about how an SUV was perfect for driving in wet weather and transporting things. And people.
❧
A hot shower and a cup of coffee improved my mood, and I forced down a bowl of yoghurt with honey and fruit, determined that I would grow to love it. I wasn’t there yet, though.
Petreski probably did pull-ups all the time at the cop gym or wherever cops worked out.
I have 2 get better at pull-ups – advice? I texted Petreski.
Yeah – ask yr trainer
Wow. That was super helpful. Kind of made a bet w her and have to do 5 on Wednesday to win
Wait – u can’t even do 5?!
Okay, that was seriously not only not helpful, but now I was pissed off. He could probably do 50 or some stupidly high number.
Mean, I texted back after a couple of minutes.
I tossed the phone onto the cushion next to me and turned my attention to the murder board leaning against the coffee table. I should be studying, but I couldn’t stop obsessing over the lines and arrows and that’s when it hit me.
I needed to know more about these people, and right now the only link I had between Lana’s work and Lana’s home was Gloria. I needed to meet Gloria for real.
I knew her name, where she worked, where she went to school, where she worked out, and I was pretty sure I knew that she was taking Sports Nutrition this semester. I was a student at the same university, and I worked out, after a fashion, at the same gym. Perfectly innocent and reasonable that I would be around and about on campus, right?
I mean, I’m not a stalker, but maybe I could employ some stalker-adjacent techniques in the name of truth and justice? I had enough self-awareness to ask myself whether I was standing at the top of a slippery slope. Petreski would say yes. Don would tell me to leave it alone and let the police handle it.
I sighed and looked at my laptop. It would be super easy to open it up and look at the class schedule, see when and where the Sports Nutrition class met. I got up to take my bowl and coffee mug to the kitchen. I was going to be responsible. I was going to play it safe. I finished rinsing the dishes and put them in the drainer to dry. I was going to mind my own bu
siness, study hard, and trust Petreski and Baldy, no, Stanek, to do their job.
I wondered what Perez would think of my new hands-off policy. She’d probably think I was a total putz.
I thought I was kind-of a putz.
❧
“I need to learn more about Gloria,” I told Don as we walked over to Ground Up that afternoon.
“Why? I mean, seriously, why?” he asked, shifting Bridger’s sling to his other shoulder. “Hey, little dude’s finally putting on some weight.”
“Because I need to... um... I need to.”
“Oh, well that explains it then.”
“Come on, man. You know I can’t let this whole thing go. And I know there’s some kind of secret involving Gloria. We need to know if she’s involved.”
“We? Not me. Not we. You. I don’t need to know anything.”
“Fine. Whatever. Me. So? Any ideas? I was thinking I’d hang around on campus near where her class is and accidentally on purpose bump into her.”
“I don’t want to know. I don’t want to be involved. And please tell me you don’t mean ‘bump into her’ literally.”
I hadn’t completely ruled it out. “Of course not. What kind of weirdo do you think I am? No, don’t answer that.”
Don waited out front while I went inside the coffee shop. After a short chat with Harry, I got a bottle of happy hour wine and a couple of glasses and rejoined Don outside.
Don was right behind me and slammed into my back when I came to a stop at the edge of the patio. I heard Bridger squeak in protest as I backed up.
“What the hell, dude?” Don asked.
“On the patio! It’s them!”
“Them who?”
“Dani and Gloria!”
“So? Seems perfect to me. You said you wanted to learn more about her. Here’s your opportunity.”
“It’s weird.”
“How is it weird?”
“When Dani saw Gloria at the gym the other day she acted weird. And now they’re here together. I don’t want to walk in on something and have it be, you know, weird.”
Don rolled his eyes. He’s super good at that, thanks to me. I’m an inspiration. “It’s not weird. Ugh, and if you say weird one more time I will slap you. You come here all the time. It’s in the neighborhood. There is nothing wrong with you being at Ground Up having a glass of wine. Which, by the way, wine? Since when do we drink wine?”
“Since beer has, like, a million carbs and gluten and stuff.”
“I like gluten and carbs and stuff.”
“But I have to do five pull-ups on Wednesday. I need all the help I can get.”
“Okay, I’m starting to feel like this conversation is getting away from me. I’m not going to ask about the pull-ups. Can we please just go sit on the patio and drink this bottle of whatever you got? I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”
“Fine.” I squared my shoulders, and turned back towards the patio, trying to act normal.
“You’re doing a great job.” Don whispered from behind me.
“Shut up. I will kill you in your sleep.” Luckily Don was behind me so he couldn’t jab me with his super-pointy elbow.
I picked a table near the front and tried to act like I hadn’t seen the two women. I poured us each a glass of wine and took a sip. It was nice. Fruity, but not too sweet. Harry hadn’t steered me wrong. But it wasn’t beer, and I sighed.
“Jake?” I turned to see Dani standing a few feet away, empty coffee cup in her hand.
“Oh, Dani! Hi! How’s it going?”
“Fine. You? Hi, I’m Dani, Jake’s trainer,” she said, looking at Don with a big smile.
“Oh, hi. Don. Don Olson. I filled out the form about Jake.” He leaned forward to shake Dani’s hand and I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine him having to tug a little to get it back.
“That’s right – I remember now that he didn’t fill it out himself. You’re a good friend to look out for him like that.” Ew. Was she... she was! She fluttered her freaking eyelashes.
I snorted.
“Um, thanks. He needs a lot of looking out for. He’s very high maintenance.”
Dani laughed. Of course she laughed. “I’m starting to figure that out. Well, I should get back to my, um... I should get back. Just going to get a refill. Nice to meet you, Don.”
“Oh, gross,” I said when she was out of earshot.
“What?”
“She likes you.”
“What, a girl can’t like me? I have good hygiene and a cute cat.”
“I’m just picturing the next time I see her. She’s gonna be all, ‘does Don have a girlfriend? What does Don do? Blah blah blah Don blah.’ Ick. Who needs that?”
“So tell her I have a girlfriend. Or that I’m broke. Either one should do the trick.” Don frowned.
“Do you want me to, though? I mean, are you interested?”
“In a murder suspect? No, even if she is cute.”
“She’s not a suspect, I’m telling you. Despite her dubious taste in men, I think she’s okay.”
“But I’m still broke. Women tend to prefer men who can take them out to dinner or a movie now and then.”
“Well, I’m not going to lie to her, anyway. Let the chips fall where they may. But... oh...”
“What?”
“She’s moving into Mr. Levine’s apartment next month, remember?”
“Oh, crap. Now do you regret making her that offer?”
“Not even a little bit.”
❧
“Dani didn’t seem to be acting weird,” Don said as we were walking home later.
“Aside from lingering glances and fluttering eyelashes, you mean?”
“Stop it. I mean, about being seen with Gloria. They didn’t seem any stranger than we did – a couple of people hanging out at the coffee shop.”
“I guess.”
“But it could get weird if Gloria recognizes us.”
“Shit. You’re right.”
“Do you think either one of them will buy that it’s a coincidence?”
“Maybe... Houston is the world’s biggest small town. I never seem to go out without bumping into someone I know.”
“Except this time the thing you’ve all got in common is a murdered woman.”
“That is a bit... awkward, I have to admit.”
“They’re not stupid. If they start talking they’ll figure out something is hinky.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I’m not going to worry about it now.”
“But what if one of them –”
“I’m one hundred percent sure Dani had nothing to do with Lana’s death. I can’t picture Gloria being involved either. And even if one or both of them was, I’ll be fine as long as I play dumb.”
“Act natural, in other words.”
Mr. Hillebrand Has Concerns about His Son’s Lifestyle
Tuesday morning I was showing Mr. Levine’s apartment to Dani and bracing myself for questions about Don. Thankfully she was playing it cool, but she did perk up when I told her Don and I both lived upstairs. At that point there was no doubt she wanted the apartment. She told me she would fill out the online rental application that afternoon, and I resigned myself to a minimum lease of twelve months living upstairs from my personal trainer.
She didn’t mention Gloria, and neither did I.
After seeing Dani out I headed back upstairs to call my Dad.
“Hey, Son! How’s life in the big city? Staying dry?”
“Hi, Dad. It’s all good. How’s everything there?”
“Can’t complain. Your mom’s taking art classes and that’s keeping her busy these days.”
“Sounds messy.”
“Not yet. Just sketching right now. But she does leave pencils and erasers and stuff all over the place.”
“She any good?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She won’t let me see anything. When I ask about it she says they’re just drawing shapes and stuff.”
“Ooh. Maybe I should take art classes too! Nah, it’s a beginner class. You know how your mom is. She’ll show me when she’s ready.”
“Oh, before I forget. I showed Mr. Levine’s apartment to somebody today, and I’d really like it if you let her have it. She’s going to fill out the online application today. Her name is Dani Jarvis.”
“I don’t see why not as long as her application checks out. Is she a friend of yours?”
“Not exactly. I mean, not yet. We haven’t known each other long and she’s, I guess technically, my personal trainer.”
“Oh, your mom will be pleased that you’re getting some exercise!”
“Et tu, Dad?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. Anyway, she’s kind of in a jam because her roommate, um, died, and she can’t stay there any longer.”
“Uh huh. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Fine. Okay, in a nutshell, her roommate, who owned the house they lived in, was murdered. Dani has to move out because the house will be going to the roommate’s father, who’s awful. Oh, and she has a small dog, so she needs a place she can afford that will let her bring the dog.”
“Murdered? Are you sure it’s safe to rent to this girl?”
“Yeah, the murder was all about her roommate, not her. She’s just had some bad luck.” I was convinced this was true, and that was good enough for me.
“You know, I’m concerned about this new murdery lifestyle of yours.”
“Murdery lifestyle? Dad, murdery is not a word.”
“You know what I mean. First you’re finding dead bodies, and now you’re hanging out with people whose friends are getting murdered. And you’re dating a homicide detective. That’s an awful lot of murder in the air and I’m worried about you.”
“Aw, Dad. You don’t need to worry. I met Petreski because I found that body – just one – not the other way around. And if friends of friends are getting murdered, it’s nice to know I’ve got a homicide investigator on speed dial, don’t you think?”
“Hmm.”
“But anyway, Dani’s nice, she works hard and her dog is really well trained. So give her a shot, okay?”