Deadly Dirty Martinis

by Nicole Leiren

  All of Detective Marshall's warnings from my prior run-in with the police rushed to the forefront. Disturbing a crime scene was a definite no-no. I couldn't do anything about the tiny slivers of teacup, but the hat situation I could fix. My fingers trembled as I reached for it. Part of me wanted to cover his face out of respect. I didn't know him all that well, but he seemed like a decent guy.

  Instead, I tightened my grip on the brim of the hat and backed away carefully, not wanting to disturb the crime scene any more than I already had. The last thing I needed right now was trouble with the police.

  I decided to move the hat back to its original position. Before I laid it back on the ground, a piece of paper fell out. My hands were shaking as I picked it up. What little tea I'd consumed threatened a return trip as I couldn't stop looking at Donny Z. I knew I was rattled when I didn't even try to look at the note, or whatever it was, before slipping it back into the hat. My trembling fingers made it an impossible task. After two attempts, I gave up and shoved the paper in my pocket.

  I dropped the hat back where I found it and decided it was time to call in reinforcements. While Hope was away, her best friend, Ruby, had also been helping out. As the senior—though none of us knew how much senior and no way were we going to ask—and more rational member of our group of employees, I decided she was the best one to call for help in this situation. "Ruby!"

  She came running. "What's wrong?" A moment later she had her answer. "Oh God. I'll call the police."

  It would be a lie if I said I was looking forward to rubbing elbows with Danger Cove's finest. I'd made a temporary truce after my last run-in with them, but Detective Marshall, or Detective Pizza Guy as I liked to call him, and I were still on shaky ground. You can't blame me for giving him that nickname. The first time I met him, he was inhaling a greasy slice of pizza. The man loved his pizza, of that there was no doubt. His feelings about me bordered on tolerant. He would probably arrest me solely on principal.

  "What's going on out here?"

  Freddie. I didn't want him to see Donny, or anyone for that matter, like this. At twenty-one, he was the baby of our group. Of course, at twenty-four, it wasn't like I was old and wise, but still. I don't know how long Freddie had been communicating with Donny, but they seemed to have a connection.

  Quickly leaving Ruby to handle this current mess, I met Freddie before he got too close and guided him back inside. Mandi was fixing herself a cup of tea. Maybe she could help me comfort him. I was confident he had a thing for her. Too bad for him she'd sworn off guys for a while after being hurt earlier this year. But she was going to have to suck it up and offer some first-rate comfort. I shot her a please-come-over-here-and-help look. She immediately put her cup down and joined us. Nice to know the BFF wavelength was still functioning properly even though everything else was falling apart.

  "Lilly, you're scaring me. You look like you saw a ghost."

  That would've been preferable. "Freddie, I'm so sorry."

  His chocolate brown eyes widened. "Sorry about what? Just tell me."

  "Your friend, Donny Z. He's…behind the shed…dead."

  At the revelation, Mandi moved and put her arms around him, holding him tight as the revelation sunk in. While she comforted him, I continued. "I'm so sorry, Freddie. The police are on their way. We'll get to the bottom of this. Any idea why anyone would want to hurt him? Thoughts on who?"

  He settled further into Mandi's embrace. "I don't know. I can only think of one, maybe two, right now."

  That wasn't helpful. I sat down next to them. "Like who?"

  The dark orbs of his eyes were bright with unshed tears. Probably thought it would ruin his image if he cried. "Your mom for one. You saw how upset she was with him."

  I did. The thought that my mother might be able to kill another human being sent any hopes for the rest of the day swirling down the toilet, not to be seen again. "Yes, she was. You probably know her better than I do. I have no idea what she's capable of."

  "Lilly!" Mandi jerked her head up from Freddie's neck.

  I shrugged. "It's true. I don't know anything about her other than she abandoned me when I was only a few months old. Who does that?"

  Mandi's mouth opened and then closed again. Yeah, exactly. Nothing to say about that. Thankfully, Freddie continued, oblivious to our exchange. "Then there was the thing with Abe. I don't know what that was about. Donny also mentioned there was lots of tension in the band, especially since he brought Liza on board. He told me about it before the concert the other night."

  Ruby called from the back door. "Lilly, the police are here."

  I sighed. Hope would not be pleased that she'd been gone only a short time and already I was up to my neck in problems. "Coming." I gave my friends another look before touching Mandi on the shoulder. "Can you call Tanner, please? See if he can come in. Freddie, as soon as the police are finished with any questions they might have for you, go home and rest. Pizza at my place tonight after work, okay?"

  He nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Lilly."

  I gave him a quick hug. "Sorry about your friend."

  With Mandi handling business and comforting Freddie, I headed outside to deal with the police. "Morning, Detective." I left out the good. Mornings weren't my favorite time of day to start with. Add in a dead body, and he's lucky I didn't say, "Crappy morning, Detective."

  "Looks like you've found yourself in the middle of a big steaming pile of trouble yet again, Ms. Waters." Detective Marshall, my least favorite of Danger Cove's police force, started our conversation in his usual obnoxious manner.

  I shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess. Though I managed to completely avoid trouble before moving here. Maybe it's your town?"

  His bushy eyebrows narrowed. "Danger Cove is a wonderful place to live. You'll do well to remember that and not take the generosity of these fine folks for granted."

  I dragged my fingers through my shoulder-length hair. Things had been so hectic this morning I hadn't even had time to pull it into the ponytail. Taking a page from Mandi's book and trying to play nice with the man, I offered a sheepish smile. "You're right, of course. Sorry. At least I didn't touch anything this time." Okay, I'd touched something—well, technically two somethings—but I put one of them back exactly where I found it. And, I'd tried really hard to return the other one to its rightful position. That had to count for something.

  He chuckled at my statement. "Good to know you can learn from your mistakes. So, tell me what happened."

  There wasn't much to tell, but I recounted for him my activities up to the point of finding the body. I was careful not to leave out any details, as that had bit me in the butt last time. All but one detail. With him temporarily pleased with me, I decided against sharing about the note. I'd take a look and, if it was something that should be shared as part of the investigation, I'd find a way to get the information to him. Preferably without him exploding in anger and killing me with stinging hot embers of his disappointment at my inability to follow his instructions. He diligently transcribed my statement, nodding as we went along. "Then I called for Ruby and asked her to call you before taking Freddie inside and consoling him."

  "Freddie is related to the victim how?"

  "They were close but not related. From what I understand, they kept in touch through social media while the band toured. He's still inside if you want to ask him any questions. I told him he could go home once you were finished."

  Detective Marshall nodded. "I'll ask him some questions, but until we nail the timeline for the victim and get an accurate time and cause of death, I won't be able to finish all my questioning. When is the last time you saw the victim alive?"

  "He came into the tavern last night about an hour or so before closing time." I was doing so much better this time in my quest to be totally honest with the police.

  "Was he with anyone?"

  "He was with the band he manages, members of The Barking Spiders." My quest for honesty might be in danger if he kept asking direct que
stions about last night.

  "Did you witness any altercations between the victim and anyone else at the bar?"

  Ummm, why yes, I did. Was I going to share that with him? Most likely not. Would that cause me trouble in the very near future? Absolutely. Would that stop me from withholding information about the argument between Donny and my mother? Nope, not even a bit. I wanted some explanations from Harmony before I tossed her to the police wolves. Especially this detective, since he tended to detain you first and get to the truth later. "Not that I recall. It was very busy last night. We were slammed, especially once the band came in." I also opted to keep quiet about Abe. The police had already falsely accused him in the past on another matter. While Abe wasn't a choirboy, I didn't believe he was a murderer either.

  Total fail in the honesty department today.

  My demeanor or facial expression must've changed because his gaze narrowed. "You're sure? You don't remember anything?"

  My gaze flitted around to see if there was a big neon sign with an arrow flashing Liar! Liar! over my head, but the coast seemed clear. "I'll give it some more thought, and if anything comes to mind, I'll be sure to call."

  He chewed on the end of his pen for a minute before finally closing his notebook. "See that you do." He leaned in, the smell of his breakfast, sausage if I had to guess, invaded my senses. "You remember what happened last time when you didn't tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, right?"

  About that time, the ambulance arrived along with the coroner. My smile didn't reach my eyes, but I offered one anyway. "Of course. Lesson learned." Kind of learned, did that count?

  He nodded and then directed his attention to the team unloading from the ambulance and the SUV marked Coroner. "I'll see to them then go inside to question the young man."

  Freddie. See why not being honest was a bad thing? I needed to get ahead of this. "Sounds good. If you're done with me, I'll go ahead and get things ready to start the day. I'll have Freddie waiting in Hope's office for you."

  "Thank you, Miss Waters."

  I smiled, maybe a little too wide, but a girl's gotta try, right? "No, thank you for all you do to keep Danger Cove safe."

  Once inside, I found Mandi prepping the dining area while Freddie absently watched. She confirmed Tanner was on his way in. "Thanks for taking care of all this, Mandi. Hey, Freddie, why don't I get you set up in Hope's office. Detective Marshall will be in when he finishes up outside."

  He nodded and followed me into the room. I pulled out Hope's chair and got him settled. Kneeling down beside him, I took his hand. "Can I ask you a favor?"

  "I'm not sure how much good I am to anyone right now, but sure."

  I was such a heel, but I didn't know any way around it right now. "You mentioned earlier about my mom, Donny, and their little argument last night."

  His gaze snapped to mine. "Yeah?"

  "Can you give me some time to talk to her about what was going on before you mention that to the police?"

  Freddie looked offended. "You want me to lie?"

  Lie was such a strong word. Even if it was the perfect choice in this instance. "Not really lie, just withhold the information until I can get some answers."

  "What about Abe?"

  Freddie asked a valid question, but I already knew it would be improbable, if not impossible, to get Abe to talk. "I'm going to work on finding out what that was all about too. We have to protect our own, right? If I find anything that points the finger at Abe, you'll be the second to know. Right after I tell the police."

  Freddie nodded at my promise then asked, "You think your mom did it?"

  That was the question of the morning. "Honestly? I don't know. I saw her for the first time in twenty-four years last night. Maybe she's capable of murder. Maybe she's not. For some reason, though, I want to believe they just had a misunderstanding. I want to give her the opportunity to provide an explanation and an alibi for everything. All I'm asking is for you to give me a few hours to figure it out. If I can't, I'll tell the police myself. Deal?"

  Those fathomless dark orbs of his, still clouded with hurt, confusion, and tears that refused to be shed, studied me carefully. "Deal."

  I may not have major internal issues withholding information from Detective Pizza Guy, but I wanted to make sure I followed through on this for Freddie. "Give me twenty-four hours. If she can't prove where she was, then I'll go to the police."

  He nodded. "You know I wasn't the only one who witnessed their fight though."

  I knew. I was just hoping the wheels of justice would turn slowly enough to give me time to talk to Harmony before the police made her prime suspect number one. "I know but appreciate you being willing to give me some time."

  He folded his arms on the desk and put his head down. I squeezed his shoulder. "Don't forget. Pizza at my place tonight if you're up to it."

  His response was mumbled since he was talking into his shirt sleeve. "Okay, thanks. I'll try."

  An old saying my gram used to tell me came to mind. Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive. Just thinking of spiders sent shivers down my spine. I needed to get myself extricated before this web of delayed truth caught me and wouldn't let go. The only way to escape? Determine if Harmony was just a bad mother or if she'd graduated to murder.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  An hour later, they still hadn't moved the crime scene tape from in front of the beer garden on the side of the tavern. The ambulance with Donny's body had just left, and Detective Marshall exited the office after finishing his interview. I gave Freddie a hug when he entered the kitchen. He detoured to the coatroom and grabbed his jacket. Not much could be said to someone at a time like this, but I had to try. "I'll check on you later. Try to get some rest."

  He sniffed and blinked back moisture. "I'm gonna call my mom. She always knows what to say when stuff happens." He shrugged and offered a half smile. "She's cool like that."

  I was glad Freddie had someone to talk to. "Of course. Take whatever time is necessary. Call if you need anything."

  Freddie leaned in. "I need you to talk to your mom and find out if she killed my friend."

  Right. Yes. First thing on my to-do list today. Sigh. Who had to put that on a list? I'd promised Freddie, though, and I would keep my promise. "I will."

  He nodded, zipped up his leather jacket, and headed out the back door. Detective Marshall waited for him to exit and then came in. "You're going to need to wait to open up. They're still processing the crime scene."

  Another failure to explain to Hope. Ruby had probably already called and told her to start working on my replacement. Maybe Gino's Pizzeria would hire me. "How long?"

  His big, beefy arms crossed, and I received another glare. "They'll be done when they're done. Despite how little you appreciate the justice system, it takes time to get to the truth. You wouldn't want this to be messed up on your watch, would you?"

  My skin prickled with exasperation. "You know I don't. I'm just trying to do my job."

  His skin flushed red, with frustration or irritation, maybe both. I tended to bring that out in him, especially during investigations. His fleshy finger pointed right at my chest. "As am I. You focus on yours, and let me do mine."

  My teeth found purchase in my tongue and kept me from saying something I would certainly regret. Thankfully, Ruby came into the kitchen. "Lilly, there's a woman here to see you. Pretty sure it's your mother. I told her we weren't open yet, but she's insistent. Says it's personal."

  Grateful to have an excuse to stop the verbal sparring with the detective, I nodded. "I'll be right there." I returned my attention to Detective Marshall. "Please let me know as soon as you're finished."

  "You'll be first on my list."

  The sarcasm dripping from his voice indicated I'd be the last to know, but I had a mother to deal with, so I'd let him win this round. Flipping my hair for emphasis, I turned and walked away. He knew his way out.

  Harmony was sitting in a booth
, staring at the nautical equipment on the opposite wall. She was tapping her fingers, two of which were bandaged, on the table. Maybe she was replaying a Barking Spider song in her head. Who knew? She looked so much like me, yet we were so different. It wasn't hard to tell she colored her hair. My guess was she was the same color brown as me, and we'd both chosen blonde as our highlight color. Our faces formed the same oval shape, just like Gram's. She may have had an inch on me, but we were both around five-foot-four, give or take. So much alike, yet so very different. Family—Gram—had been everything to me. It had meant nothing to her.

  I slid onto the bench on the opposite side of the booth, ignoring the strong scent of Vick's VapoRub coming from her direction. Maybe she had a cold? "You wanted to see me?"

  She refocused and smiled. "Hi, baby."

  My head shook. "Not your baby. You gave birth to me. That's it."

  A tear escaped down her cheek, and the knife of guilt pressed against my chest. This detail irritated me. Why should I feel guilty? "If anyone could call me baby, it would be Gram."

  At the mention of her mother, her face fell. "I miss her."

  My hands clenched into fists. Maybe I had some violence in me too. I saw no need to candy coat the truth. "She died a few years ago, so you won't be able to fix things with her." Not that I held a lot of hope she could fix things with me either. At least I was still here for her to try.

  More of her tears fell, pushing the guilt knife the rest of the way into my heart. "I know. I didn't find out in time to make it to the funeral, but I've visited her gravesite. I figured she'd gotten sick when the letters stopped."

  Wait. What? "What letters?"

  She reached down to the seat and pulled up an accordion-type folder. Opening it, she pulled out letters and pictures. "Despite everything I did to her…to you, she never gave up believing I'd come home. Brock and I keep a post office box in Florida where we have a small apartment. When we're not touring, we stay there. Mom would send pictures and letters telling me about you. She even told me you had plans to go to Danger Cove someday. I confess I wanted to see if you'd made it here when I learned we were going to be in the area."