Warrior, Fatal & Flawed

by Jacqueline M Green

  “You can’t really fault him for that.”

  I made a face. She was right. Again. “I don’t, not really, but that’s when we started pulling away from each other. He was under a lot of pressure and he wouldn’t let me help. We didn’t have the kind of marriage that you and Charlie have. I admire how supportive you are of each other.”

  Cindy’s eyes lighted up and she smiled. “Did I tell you he is training for an ultra-marathon now?”

  I grinned back at her as I shook my head. Her husband, once an immigration lawyer and now a consultant, frequently had new hobbies that kept him busy while his wife worked. We talked about his upcoming ultramarathon race and moved away from talking about Lee and me, much to my relief.

  After dinner, we crashed on the large sectional sofa to watch a couple of movies that Charlie didn’t care to see. Not long after the final credits had rolled through and Cindy looked under the ottoman for her shoes, her cell buzzed. She smiled.

  “Probably just Charlie wanting to know when I’ll be home.”

  Shoes in one hand, she grabbed her phone and hesitated, a frown creasing her forehead. Apparently, it was not her husband, as she had expected. She swiped right to answer.

  “Sheriff Stevens. What’s up?” Cindy listened for a few minutes and asked a couple of questions. Then nodded at the phone. “On my way.”

  Her eyes caught mine as she clicked off. “A body was found by the river. It’s Serena Jacobus, Lee’s girlfriend. She’s dead.”

  Chapter 3

  I followed Cindy in my car to the Sheriff’s Post at the end of Main Street. We entered the station together, but she motioned me to the visitors’ chairs. Lee was being questioned in one of the gray interrogation rooms in the back.

  My friend, Josie, a sheriff’s deputy, saw me through the bullet-proof glass at the reception desk and came out to the lobby. She flopped down in the chair beside me.

  “You’re up late.” I crossed my legs and settled back.

  Josie grinned. “Back on the night shift.”

  Josie had been consigned to front desk duty while her sister was under suspicion for the murder of a local businessman, the same case where I received my new scars. I helped her solve the mystery with help from our friend, CeCe, who owned the local coffee house.

  She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Know anything about this one?”

  I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders at the same time. “Cindy and I were watching chick flicks. Remember, you were invited. Were you called to the river?”

  Josie nodded. “It wasn’t pretty.”

  “How did she die?”

  Josie bit her lip and glanced around the lobby. “I’m not at liberty to say just yet.”

  “Breakfast tomorrow?”

  She nodded and stood up. “I should be able to say by then. Did you want to see your ex? Your new boyfriend is about to arrest him for murder.”

  I sighed. “I guess I should, huh?”

  “I’ll let him know. It might be awhile.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend. Not yet, anyway.”

  Josie turned back to me, eyebrows raised. “That’s what you want to talk about right now?”

  She shook her head and stepped back through the door to the inner station.

  I waited for nearly an hour before Neil stuck his head out the lobby door and motioned me in. He looked sternly into my face. “You can talk to him but only for ten minutes, and it will be recorded.”

  “Hello to you, too.”

  Neil grimaced. “It’s after midnight. Societal niceties went out the window about an hour ago.”

  He led me down the thin gray hallway to a tiny interrogation room. Lee sat in the corner, his shoulders drooping and eyes closed. He lifted his head as I entered the room, the door clicking shut behind me. Relief filled his face as he stood to hug me. I briefly hugged him back, then gently pushed him away. Glancing at what I was sure was a two-way mirror, I sat down in another chair and motioned for him to do the same.

  “They won’t give me much time, Lee. What happened?”

  Lee lifted his hands to his shoulders, palms up. “I told them I don’t know. Once we checked into the hotel, Serena and I got into an argument.”

  “Big surprise.”

  “Not the time, Mariah.” He paused and took a breath. “She stomped out and I never saw her again. The next thing I knew, your boyfriend was pounding on my door and arresting me.”

  Good grief, we go on one sort-of lunch date and everyone starts calling him my boyfriend? I wasn’t even sure of our status, but everyone else apparently was.

  “He’s not my boyfriend but go on.” I motioned for him to keep talking.

  “That’s it. They dragged me down here and asked me why I killed her.” Lee’s eyes filled with tears and he wiped them away. “We had broken up a couple of times, but she didn’t deserve to die. They aren’t even considering anyone else. They just arrested me.”

  I took a breath and glanced back at the mirror. “Neil will follow the evidence and find the killer. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to help.”

  Lee eagerly leaned toward me, his eyes bright with tears. “That’s perfect! Talk to Cindy and get her to drop the charge. Thank you, Mariah.”

  I recoiled, horrified that he would think I would use my sister’s influence. “No, Lee, that’s not what I meant. Of course, I'm not going to ask Cindy to intervene. Are you nuts? But I will try to help your case.”

  Lee’s shoulders drooped again and he leaned back in his chair, his face breaking into a sarcastic smile. “You? You teach yoga, Mariah. What can you possibly do to help me?”

  I sat up straighter and leaned away from him. “I’ll have you know that I have helped solve a couple of murder cases around here. Don’t be so quick to dismiss me. I used to be a reporter, remember? I have skills.”

  The expression on his face was skeptical. I can’t say I blamed him. It’s not like I had helped solve any murder cases when we were married. This was a relatively new development in my life.

  We stared at each other for a long moment, my eyes challenging him to say something contrary to what I’d told him. Wisely, he dropped his gaze first.

  “Okay, Lee, so what did you do when Serena didn’t come back to the hotel last night?”

  He stared at the floor for a long moment. I looked at the ceiling. “You didn’t do anything? Weren’t you worried about her?”

  Lee’s mouth pursed and he swung his arms wide.

  “Look, I didn’t ask her to come and I was looking for the first opportunity to dump her. So, no, I didn’t worry. In fact, I was…” His voice trailed off as he dropped his hands to his knees. “I was kind of relieved. She can – could – be a lot to deal with sometimes.”

  I stared at him in silence for a moment before I spoke. “Were you always this mean?”

  He smiled wryly and his eyes flickered toward mine. “Probably. Just not with you. I actually loved you.”

  Our eyes held for a moment, then I broke away my gaze. When I spoke, my voice was quiet.

  “Lee, I have to know the truth. Are you being honest with me? Did you kill Serena?”

  His eyes went wide. “No! I mean, yes. I mean-” He stopped to take another big breath and responded calmly. “Yes, I’m being honest with you. No, I didn’t kill Serena.”

  “Did she know anyone else here?”

  Lee shook his head. “Not that I know of. I’m pretty sure she had never been here before.”

  I stared at him. “Hardly anyone just kills a stranger, Lee. Someone else must have known her enough to kill her.”

  Chapter 4

  Neil, to his credit, waited for me to signal the mirror before he came to get me. I placed a hand on Lee’s shoulder and turned to leave, then looked back.

  “You do have a lawyer, right?”

  “On the way from Sacramento.” He nodded wearily.

  As I stepped into the hallway, Cindy came up behind Neil and whispered into his ear. A puzzled expression came over hi
s face, but he nodded at her.

  “Hey, sis, walk yourself out, okay? I need Neil and Josie right now.”

  I watched as the three of them walked toward Cindy’s office. I glanced over my shoulder, then scooted up next to her office door. I might have hung out in the hallway a little longer than I probably should have. After a few minutes, I heard Neil’s voice, surprisingly raised.

  “That’s absurd! You know it is!”

  Cindy’s voice was quieter so I couldn’t hear her response. I leaned a little closer to the door.

  “Ma’am, may I help you?”

  I jumped as a man’s voice came over my shoulder, bumping into Cindy’s door. Josie quickly opened it, looking at me with wide eyes.

  “Uh, sorry,” I stammered. “That was an accident. I was just leaving.”

  She closed the door just as quickly. I scurried past the officer, grumbling about people who sneak up on others who are just minding their own business.

  There was nothing left for me to do there, so I headed to my car and drove home. Jasper was quiet much of the time but especially so at midnight. The darkened storefronts seemed foreboding beneath the moonlight as if long stringy arms would rise around them, clutching at everything in sight.

  The only store lights on were at the Corner Mercantile. I reduced my speed as I drove by so I could look through the windows. After the owner of the Corner Mercantile was murdered last month, his daughter had returned to town to figure out what to do with the store. I hoped she wouldn’t close it down. It was the only general store in the area. Bigger than a convenience store but smaller than a typical grocery. So far, it looked like she had cleaned it up quite a bit and dumped old stock that had remained on the shelves.

  As I stopped at the four-way intersection by the store, I looked over and saw a woman in one of the aisles, moving bottles and rubbing the shelves behind them. She stopped to brush a gloved hand across her forehead, then threw a glance out the front windows, her eyes pausing when she saw my car stopped in front of her store. I waved through the window, not sure if she could see me under the streetlight. She waved back and I drove on.

  She sure was up late. As a small business owner, I could relate. But with Lee in jail and Neil blowing up at Cindy, I had a lot more than just business on my mind. What was going on in Jasper?

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, I tucked my phone into my sports bra and zipped up my jacket before I sprinted to CeCe’s Coffee Shop after the morning Sun Salutations class. My phone was connected to the studio, so I liked to keep it close but didn’t like to carry it.

  The Sun Sals class was a typically robust workout so I couldn’t eat beforehand without feeling nauseous by the end. By the time we got to savasana, the meditation time to wind down class, my stomach rumbled. I glanced around the room to see if any of my students gave me the stink eye for interrupting their meditation, but maybe the rumble wasn’t that loud. Or maybe my students were just accustomed to it.

  Apparently, the folks in Jasper were used to my twice-weekly morning sprints because after the first few times, no one stopped me on the way to the coffee shop anymore.

  CeCe stood behind the front counter ringing up a customer. She handed me a coconut-milk double-shot mocha as I walked past. I pointed out a sugar doughnut to go with it and then a banana so CeCe would stop rolling her eyes at me.

  Slipping into a booth across from Cindy and trying to sip my mocha at the same time, I stumbled and barely saved the mocha from spilling all over the table. Cindy looked at me over her reading glasses, a file on the table in front of her.

  “I know some asanas that could help you with your balance problem, sis.” She closed the file and tucked it into her bag, then picked up her own coffee cup and gave me the “cheers” sign.

  “You’re hilarious.” Asanas is the Sanskrit word for physical yoga poses.

  “Yeah, well, you’re pretty clumsy for a yoga teacher,” Josie chimed in as she scooted in beside me.

  CeCe brought over my doughnut and banana, then set a ham-and-cheese croissant in front of Cindy and a bowl of fruit in front of Josie.

  I stared at the fruit bowl, over-flowing with melons, strawberries and blueberries. “Fruit, really? That’s new.”

  “I’m turning over a new leaf today. I need to keep a clear head.” Josie picked up her fork as she grinned across the table at Cindy, then ducked her head to hide her smile.

  “Why? What’s going on?” My gaze ping-ponged back and forth between Cindy and Josie, who could not keep the smile off her face, unusual for my typically serious friend. “What? Someone tell me what’s going on. Why do you need a clear head? I thought you just got off shift.”

  Josie shrugged. “I’m back to days for a while.”

  Cindy tried to feign casualness as she tucked her napkin on her lap and cut into the warm croissant sandwich. I could smell the salty ham from across the table. It wasn’t a bad smell. Bacon had been one of the hardest foods to give up when I went vegetarian years ago and, of course, ham was in the same family.

  “It’s an internal department decision. Don’t ask any questions about it.” Cindy paused and looked at me pointedly. “Josie has been reassigned to take over the investigation into Serena Jacobus’ death.”

  My mouth fell open. “Wait, that’s Neil’s job. What-”

  As I started to ask the question, Cindy quickly shook her head warning me away from it. I bit back my questions – not to mention my indignation on Neil’s behalf – and grabbed my mocha for a long drink. Finally, I turned to Josie.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. It’s only temporary, but it’s a great opportunity.”

  I knew she had wanted to get more into the investigative side of law enforcement, but I worried to see it done apparently at Neil’s expense. I needed answers.

  “What will Detective Samuelson be doing while Josie is doing his job?” I pinned my gaze at my sister, trying not to judge.

  “That’s an internal personnel question.” Cindy calmly took a bite of her breakfast sandwich.

  “Oh.” I sucked my lips together and picked up my mocha.

  We sat in silence as Cindy and Josie made quick work of their breakfasts. Typically, we meet up and chat about the day ahead with a lot of teasing and joking. I picked at the sides of the sugar doughnut on the plate in front of me.

  CeCe slipped into the booth next to Cindy and shot a glance around the table. “What’s the haps? What are we talking about?”

  Cindy quickly wiped her mouth and set her napkin on her plate. She reached back and tightened her light-brown hair into the ponytail she wore at work. “Josie, we need to get to the post.”

  Josie nodded and swiped the last bite of fruit from her bowl. She swallowed as she stood up, then grabbed the to-go cup she always carried and wiggled it at CeCe. “Can I get a little for the road?”

  CeCe jumped up to help her and they walked toward the coffee counter, CeCe throwing a puzzled look over her shoulder to me.

  Standing beside the table, Cindy leaned toward me and lowered her voice. “Neil is on the suspect list. I can’t tell you more than that right now. Please stay out of this one.”

  She straightened up as CeCe and Josie came back toward the booth. Josie squeezed my shoulder as she walked by and bent down toward me. “It’s going to be okay, Mariah. Don’t worry.”

  I patted her hand and tried to smile. CeCe watched them go, then sat down across from me. “Okay, spill. What was that all about?”

  I filled her in on what Cindy and Josie had told me, then pulled my phone from my bra and quickly tapped in Neil’s number. No answer.

  “How can Neil be on the suspect list? He didn’t even know that girl, did he?” CeCe’s face looked as stunned as I felt.

  I shook my head and shrugged. “Not that I know of.”

  CeCe looked at the table around my doughnut. “You’re making a mess. Either eat it or I’ll put it in a bag for you to take with you.”

  I shoved the do
ughnut plate across the table to her.

  “Wow, you must be upset. Not even a doughnut?”

  A familiar voice broke in. “If she’s not going to eat it, I’ll take it.”

  Maya Anderson, the lone reporter for the Jasper newspaper and companion website, flopped down into the booth opposite me. She took the doughnut plate from CeCe’s hand and set it back in front of herself, then took a bite out of one large piece before looking me in the eyes. She shrugged. “Small town journalists don’t make much, ya know?”

  She nibbled for a couple of minutes while I tried to figure out a polite way to make an exit.

  “Ready to talk, Mariah?”

  “About what? I’m really not in the mood to talk right now, particularly not to you. No offense.” In fact, I didn’t actually care if I offended her. I grew more irritated by the second. Of all the people I wanted to talk to, Maya Anderson was not even in the top 20, at least.

  Maya’s eyes widened. “How about the fact that your ex-husband came to town and is accused of killing his girlfriend and your boyfriend is also on the suspect list?”

  “He’s not my bo-.” I stopped and dropped my head into my hands, my elbows supporting them on the tabletop. “No comment, Maya.”

  “Come on, Mariah. You used to be a journalist. You’ve got to give me something.” Maya spoke around the mouthful of my doughnut she was polishing off, dabbing her fingers on the plate to the get the last morsels.

  “Maya, I don’t know anything. I can’t help you.”

  Maya pressed on. “Don’t you think it’s suspicious that your ex-husband comes to town and then his girlfriend dies?”

  “Horrifying, not suspicious.”

  “Are you going to get back together with him or stick with your new boyfriend?”

  I sighed heavily. “I am not getting back together with my ex-husband. And he’s not my boyfriend. I can’t help you, Maya.”

  CeCe hovered by the table, eyes ping-ponging between Maya and me. She took the opportunity to hand me a doughnut bag, which now contained a fresh sugar doughnut. I slid out of the booth and gave her a quick hug before I walked slowly toward the door.