The man considered him carefully, then slowly raised his hand to his neck. Turning his neck to the side, he lifted his hair, and when the Marine saw what was revealed, he suddenly understood. Nodding, he raised his own hand and turned his head to the side, lifting his hair.
Chapter 12
“I heard that there was one of us around here somewhere, brother,” the man offered his hand and Spencer shook it, relaxing. “I’m Janssen.”
“Bengal,” Spencer replied. “What are you doing out here, Janssen?”
“I live out here. Never quite learned how to re-assimilate, so I just stay on my own, living off of the land. I usually keep moving, but this area is remote, has lots of game and the government leaves me alone, so I’ve been here a while,” Janssen shrugged.
“I hear ya,” the Marine nodded, empathizing.
“What’s your mission?”
Spencer inclined his head in the direction of the cabin. “Got one holed up in there. Haven’t figured out if he’s homicidal or just a misogynist jerk.”
“He hurt a girl?” Janssen’s eyes narrowed.
“Maybe. His wife’s missing, and he’s more than a little friendly with her little sister,” the Marine’s jaw worked.
“Do we need to take care of this?”
“Not yet. I’m trailing him until I have more intel,” Spencer shook his head.
Janssen ducked down suddenly, taking Spencer with him. “Your guy is on the move,” he whispered, and they watched Jeffrey lock the cabin, stash the key under the floorboards on the porch and head back toward his car.
“Have you seen him around here before?” Spencer whispered back.
“Nope, but I’ll be looking for him now.”
“If you see anything, find me at the Beach House B&B,” the Marine instructed, slipping away toward the cabin.
“Will do, brother.”
Spencer found the floorboard with the key underneath it immediately, and let himself into the cabin, using night vision equipment to search. The smell emanating from the cabin was one with which the Marine was familiar, but hadn’t been exposed to in quite some time. Apparently, the “squeaky-clean” Mr. Mitchell enjoyed marijuana from time to time. The room was hazy with the smoke, and Spencer fought against the effects of the drug, going outside for a deep lungful of air which he used sparingly once back inside.
He felt along walls, and floors, looking for anything that might be hidden, and went through the drawers in the kitchen and the lone closet in the tiny bedroom, finding nothing but standard camping equipment that looked like it hadn’t been disturbed in a very long time. By all appearances, it looked as though Jeffrey Mitchell had driven through the Florida wilderness in the dark, just to have a safe and quiet place to smoke. It didn’t add up.
Spencer stopped suddenly when he heard light footsteps outside the cabin. Someone climbed the steps to the porch and searched for the key. The Marine posted up beside the door, ready to spring upon whoever entered the cabin. He only heard one set of footsteps, so he knew that he’d have the situation contained and would be able to extract information pretty quickly. When the newcomer didn’t find the key, they tried the door knob, and, upon finding the cabin unlocked, made the mistake of entering Spencer’s world.
The Marine was on the intruder in a flash, placing one hand over their mouth while pulling both hands up behind their back.
“I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth and we’re going to have a little talk,” Spencer directed. “You’re not going to call for help because it will waste my time and there’s no one out here to hear you anyway. If you cooperate, you just might be able to walk out of here rather than having to be transported, do you understand?” A quick nod.
“Good. Now remember, you’re going to keep quiet, other than to answer my questions.”
He lowered his hand.
“What’s your name?” he asked the trembling individual in front of him. He could see with his night vision gear, but the terrified intruder was left completely in the dark.
“Julie,” was the shaky answer.
“What are you doing here, Julie?”
“I just came out here to smoke some weed and do business with a guy,” she began to cry, swiping at her nose with the back of one hand.
“What kind of business?”
“Umm…well, I…uh…” she hedged.
“You’re a prostitute,” Spencer stated flatly.
“No! I’m not like that. I’m an escort. I get paid for dates,” she protested weakly.
“Whatever. What was the guy’s name and how did you meet him?”
“His name was Jeff, and I met him at a bar a couple of nights ago. He was upset, but wouldn’t tell me why, so I offered to help him forget about his troubles and introduced him to a guy who sells really good weed.”
“What a humanitarian,” Spencer commented dryly.
“He said that he couldn’t take me home, but wanted me to meet him later. I saw him the next day and he gave me the directions to this place. Can I go now?”
“Which bar were you at, and at what time?”
“Gecko Grill, and it was after midnight, I’m not sure of the exact time, because I had a couple of dates before I went to bed around 3:30.”
“Do you know where Jeff is staying?”
“No, he didn’t tell me,” Julie shook her head.
“Good. If he contacts you again, for your own safety, ignore his call. And, if you’re planning on making a career out of dating, think twice about meeting someone you don’t know in the middle of nowhere. People just disappear sometimes, you know,” Spencer warned.
“Jeff said something like that,” she whispered.
“I bet he did. You can take off now, and don’t have anything to do with Jeff, understand?”
“Okay,” she cried out, bolting for the door.
Spencer had taken no pleasure in intimidating the working girl, but he had gained some valuable information. Jeffrey Mitchell had said that his wife disappeared while he was sleeping, but Julie had just told him that the new husband had been soliciting a prostitute at a local bar that night, not sleeping soundly while his wife was abducted. His next stop would be the Gecko Grill. There were some security tapes that he would need to see.
Chapter 13
“What did you find out?” Missy demanded, before Kel even had a chance to sit down.
“Well, as it turns out, our dear Mr. Mitchell wasn’t as squeaky clean as he seems,” the artist replied somberly, reaching for a Coconut Dream cupcake.
“That’s no surprise, the guy is a total jerk,” Echo shrugged. “He had to have some skeletons in his closet.”
“Skeletons indeed,” Kel remarked. “The young lady that he was dating prior to Amber was a pretty and popular brunette named Molly. She was chosen as homecoming queen while Jeffrey was seeing her, and seemed to have quite a bright future ahead of her, but died suddenly of an overdose of prescription drugs. The drugs hadn’t been prescribed to her, or anyone else in her family, and police were unable to determine where she had procured them.”
“Oh, how awful,” Missy shook her head sadly.
“But how does that relate to Jeffrey?” Echo demanded.
“Patience, my flame-haired beauty, I’m getting there,” Kel took another large bite of his cupcake and chewed slowly, keeping them in suspense. “I happened to run into Molly’s mother at the diner that she operates, and we had a very enlightening chat. She never cared for her daughter’s boyfriend – said he treated Molly like an errant child – and that she knew her daughter would never dream of taking her own life.”
“Maybe Jeffrey drove her to it,” Missy guessed.
“Quite literally perhaps,” Kel replied. “Molly was found in her car, parked by a remote lake. One has to wonder, where she got the drugs, how she drove out to the lake while under the influence of the drugs, and why there was no pill bottle found in her car, her room, or her locker.”
“Molly’s mother thinks that Jeffr
ey killed her daughter?” Echo asked.
“His father was a doctor, and his mother had been in and out of rehab, so it would seem like a no-brainer that it would be easy for the lad to get his hands on the drugs,” the artist explained.
“But why would he kill his girlfriend?” Missy asked.
“Because of he and Molly’s mother knew something that no one else did…Molly was pregnant.”
Missy and Echo gasped.
“Oh man, if that’s true, he really is evil,” Echo whispered.
“Which means he probably did kill his wife. But why hasn’t her body turned up anywhere?” Missy wondered.
“Well, he dropped Molly off at a remote location. Maybe he did the same thing to Amber,” Kel suggested.
The bell over the door jangled, and Jeffrey Mitchell walked in.
“Oh! Uh…hello,” Missy manufactured some hospitality. “What can I do for you?” she asked, feeling an angry flush rising in her cheeks and trying hard to keep her cool.
“Have any of you seen Ashlie?” he asked the trio, sounding annoyed.
Missy’s eyes grew wide. “Oh my…no. Why, is she missing too?”
Jeffrey rolled his eyes. “No. When she didn’t come down for breakfast, I went up to her room to check on her and heard the shower running. I didn’t see her after that, so I thought that she might have come over here to get more cupcakes,” he explained impatiently.
Missy, put off by his rudeness, raised an eyebrow. “No, she didn’t. Have a nice day,” she dismissed him, removing the paper shell from her cupcake.
Mitchell sighed. “Well, while I’m here, I might as well save her the trip and get some cupcakes. Just give me two that you think she’ll like. She raved about those salted caramel things yesterday.”
“No problem,” Missy replied, getting up from the table and moving behind the counter, making a concerted effort not to get too close to the dangerous young man. She put two Pistachio Puff cupcakes in a white paper bag.
“That’ll be $17.50 please,” she looked at him expectantly.
“Seventeen-fifty for two cupcakes?” he asked, astonished, knowing full well that Ashlie had gotten hers for free.
“Before tip,” Missy stared at him unblinking.
The rude young man sighed loudly and reached in his front pocket for his billfold. Peeling off a twenty, he threw it on the counter.
“Keep the change,” he growled, taking the bag and heading for the door.
“Have a nice day,” Missy smiled nastily, not touching the bill.
Chapter 14
A handsome young man who reminded Missy somehow of Spencer came hesitantly into the foyer of the Inn, looking as though he felt extremely out of place.
“Hello,” she smiled. “May I help you?”
“Hello, ma’am,” he nodded politely. “I’m looking for Bengal.”
“Bengal?” Missy was confused for a moment, then realized what he was talking about. “Oh! You mean Spencer. He should be in his apartment. You can find it by going out this back door over her, turning right by the pool and then turning right again to get to the side of the Inn. His door is the first one that you’ll come to,” she explained. “Is he expecting you?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” he smiled and headed for the back door.
**
“What have you got?” Spencer asked Janssen, handing him a cold beer.
“Caught a dealer out at that little cabin. He was supplying your killer with weed,” Janssen replied, after taking a long pull on his beer. “Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of these,” he tipped the bottle at the Marine appreciatively.
“There’s more where that came from. What did the dealer say?”
“Said the dude was squirrely, jumpy. Needed a fix to settle him down.”
“Did he tell the dealer why he was so keyed up?”
“Nah, just mentioned girl trouble,” Janssen shrugged.
“That’s an understatement,” Spencer remarked dryly.
“He did say something interesting though.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“He said your dude turned up one time with a chick.”
“Yeah, I found a pro out there when I went back to the cabin, it was probably her,” Spencer said dismissively.
“Nope. Said he met the dude through a pro named Julie, but it wasn’t Julie that was out there with his buyer,” Janssen shook his head and downed the rest of the beer.
“Did you get a description?”
“Reddish brown hair, big brown eyes, hot body. Wearing cut-offs and a tank top.”
Spencer nodded, recognizing the description. Apparently Jeffrey Mitchell had taken Ashlie to the cabin with him at some point. “Gotcha. I’m going to guess that he disposed of his wife’s body out there somewhere and he gets off on bringing people out there so close to the site,” he proposed with a disgusted sigh.
“That’d be my guess,” Janssen agreed. “Listen man, when all of this stuff goes down, and you bring the cops out there, I don’t exist, remember?”
“I got your back, no worries,” Spencer promised, raising his beer.
“If you decide that you want to handle this the old-fashioned way…let me know.”
“I don’t play the game that way anymore, brother,” the Marine shook his head.
“Don’t matter. I do. When I have to,” Janssen rose to leave.
“Thanks for the info, man. Want one for the road?” Spencer held up his beer.
“Nah, gotta stay clear, thanks anyhow. Got something for ya that’ll rattle the dude’s cage a little bit,” he said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a large item wrapped in butcher paper. Spencer saw a spot of blood on the wrapping and raised an eyebrow.
“Florida’s finest,” Janssen said, laying the bundle on the coffee table with a solid thunk. He raised his hand in farewell and disappeared into the night.
Spencer Bengal picked up his phone and texted Detective Chas Beckett.
Chapter 15
Missy rubbed the sleep from her eyes as her husband tried to dress quietly in the hours just before dawn.
“Sweetie, are you wearing jeans?” she asked, surprised. One thing that Chas insisted upon doing was dressing professionally. To see him in anything other than a suit and tie during the week was unusual.
“Yeah. We have an investigation this morning that will be conducted in a semi-wooded swamp area. I need to be wearing something durable,” he said grimly.
“Do you think that you’ll find…Amber?” she bit her lip.
“It’s looking like a good possibility.”
“I hope not. I’d like to think that she’s still alive somewhere, reading her book and thanking her lucky stars that she no longer has to put up with that abusive twit of a husband.”
“I hope so too,” her husband agreed. “But it doesn’t usually turn out that way.” He came over to Missy’s side of the bed to kiss her.
“Let me know if you…” she trailed off, unable to finish.
“I will,” Chas promised, kissing her again.
Unable to go back to sleep, Missy showered, dressed and headed down to the main kitchen in the Inn, thinking she could help Maggie prepare breakfast for Jeffrey and Ashlie.
“Mmmm…something smells delicious,” she sang out, peering over Maggie’s shoulder as the innkeeper scooped golden nuggets out of the mini deep fryer. “What is that?”
“Fresh gator. Didn’t you buy it and leave it in the fridge for me to use?” she asked, scooping out the last tender bites.
“No, but what a great way to give our guests a little taste of Florida,” Missy enthused.
“Shall I sprinkle Jeffrey’s with drain cleaner?” Maggie whispered.
“Honey, don’t even make jokes like that,” her boss chided. “Even if we’re all thinking it.”
Missy placed paper liners in a straw basket, dusted the bottom with cornmeal, and loaded it up with fresh, tender, deep fried gator, taking it out to the breakfast tabl
e, while Maggie brought out platters of eggs, potatoes and toast.
“Mmm…that looks good, what is it?” Ashlie asked when Missy set the basket on the table.
“Fresh gator tail. I hope you like it.”
Jeffrey’s head snapped up when she said that, and when his eyes met those of Spencer, who was leaning against the door jamb leading to the parlor, he paled visibly. The Marine raised an eyebrow briefly, quirked a corner of his mouth, and left the room, with Jeffrey staring after him, suddenly devoid of appetite.
“I’ve never had gator before,” Ashlie marveled, oblivious to her breakfast companion’s profound reaction.
“Tastes just like chicken,” he whispered hoarsely.
Chapter 16
A premonition of doom gripped Missy when Chas’s picture popped up on her phone, indicating that he was calling.
“Hey, sweetie. Any news?” she asked anxiously.
“We found her,” the detective replied, in a tone that let her know immediately that he didn’t mean alive. “I can’t give you any details right now, but I wanted to let you know that I’ll be late getting home tonight.”
“Okay,” Missy said softly. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Don’t say anything to Jeffrey or Ashlie, we’ll take care of that,” he instructed.
“Okay. Be safe, honey. I love you.”
“I love you too. Don’t wait up,” Chas said warmly, knowing that his tender-hearted wife was affected by the news of Amber’s death.
Missy sat staring into space for quite some time after hanging up, her heart aching for the young bride who had died too soon. She planned to stay put in the owner’s wing for the evening, avoiding the main Inn so that she wouldn’t risk running into Jeffrey or Ashlie. She called Echo and invited her over for movie night, knowing that she’d do much better if she didn’t have to be alone. Echo agreed with great enthusiasm, and Missy went to work fixing snacks before she came over.
**
Echo smiled to herself after hitting the End button. A girl’s night watching movies and munching popcorn with her best friend, surrounded by dogs and love was just what she needed. She hadn’t seen Toffee, Missy’s golden retriever, and Bitsy, her MaltiPoo sidekick in far too long, and loved it when “the girls” curled up under her feet. She threw some pajamas, a toothbrush and a clean outfit in a tote bag, in case she and Missy decided to have wine with their snacks and she ended up snoring on the couch.
Eggnog Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery - Book 23 (Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries) Page 4