Six Feet Under

by Tonya Kappes

  “I do want to get some things laid out before he gets here.” I looked back at the door of Cowboy’s when I could smell the fish frying. It wouldn’t be long until he brought the food over.

  I hit send on the document to the judge along with the report on the Botox case. I got up and grabbed the black dry-erase marker. I dragged the wet tip of the marker horizontally across the board. I completely filled in Mama’s timeline where there were holes. Her whereabouts were all accounted for.

  “Okay.” Poppa paced back and forth. “Now make a line for Mundy.” He pointed. “We know he was at Ben’s in the morning when you went with Finn.”

  I began to fill out Mundy’s timeline and put bullet points of his history and why he was our number one suspect.

  “Malina saw Mundy at the hotel.” I tapped the felt of the marker on the board.

  “Don’t forget about Danny Shane delivering milk to Mundy at the hotel around five,” Poppa reminded me.

  “I almost forgot about that!” I snapped my fingers and wrote that down. “What was he doing between five thirty and seven?”

  “Forgot about what?” Finn stood at the door of the department with Duke. “Who are you talking to?” he questioned.

  “Myself.” I reddened. Poppa disappeared. I snapped the lid back on the marker and walked over to Finn. “Duke.” My trusty bloodhound ran over, shoving his nose in my pocket where he thought I had a treat.

  “Here boy.” Finn grabbed a treat off the desk and flipped it towards Duke.

  At first I was a little timid about how to approach Finn since there’d been so much tension between us about even the thought of hiding evidence. I put all of that aside and walked over to him. He stared at me the entire time and our eyes never looked away.

  “I stopped by the house to see how Riley was doing.” He smiled.

  “And?” I teased.

  “He was doing great.” He reached out for my hands. “The new addition is coming along.”

  “Be sure that his permit is displayed in the window because the Beautification Committee love to drive around and nab people.” I’d completely forgotten to tell him about that.

  “What do they do?” He laughed.

  “It’s the law to have a permit, but they get to keep some of the fine the judge will give the contractor. Their part of the fine goes into the committee and they use it to do projects, so they’re always on the lookout. They get money anyway they can,” I told him.

  Those members were ruthless. Once they dinged me for the new fence I’d put up for Duke.

  “I missed you today,” I whispered and curled up on my tippy toes.

  We hugged each other and melted into a warm kiss. The fluttering started in my throat and didn’t stop until it reached my toenails.

  “I’m sorry I ever had you doubt my moral compass. I’d never ever hold evidence in a case. Even involving my mama.” Even though we’d already gotten past it last night, I felt like I needed to say it one last time.

  “You shouldn’t be sorry. I knew you’d never do anything to jeopardize your career or your mother. It was a knee-jerk reaction on my part.” He didn’t let me protest. He simply pulled me tighter and kissed me harder.

  “Ahem.” Bartleby cleared his throat. “Don’t mind me. I’m just delivering the best damn fried fish in the state.”

  I waved my hand in the air but didn’t dare pull away from Finn. Bartleby walking in on us wasn’t that big of a deal, but a ninety-pound bloodhound was hard to ignore when he pushed his way in between us.

  “Are you feeling left out, buddy?” Finn laughed and looked down.

  Duke gave a low playful groan followed up by a big yawn. Happy he’d come between us, he sauntered over to his big pillow bed and laid down.

  “I’m starving.” I rubbed my hands together. “And that food smells so good.”

  Bartleby had put the two Styrofoam containers on my desk along with two cups of coffee and two fountain drink Diet Cokes.

  “Me too.” Finn’s hand drew down my back. He guided me over to the food.

  It was dead silent when we opened the containers and eyed the delicious-looking food. We each took one and dug in.

  “I see you’ve been working on a timeline.” Finn smiled. “You thought it was a stupid idea at first.”

  “I never thought it was stupid. I thought it was a waste of time. But as you can see, I filled in Mama’s.” My brows rose. “I started Mundy’s and was getting ready to start one for Ben.”

  “I thought you were staying off the case,” he reminded me.

  “I had to clear Mama. But I can still lend a hand and my two cents. I feel like I need to get in touch with Mundy in order to clear Ben’s name.” I gnawed on the end of the straw from the Diet Coke and waited for Finn’s response.

  “Yeah.” He took a drink of his Coke. “That thought about Ben crossed my mind only because his business has been so good since all of this. Plus I went down to the bank and found out that they were about to call in his loan because he’s not been able to pay full rent.” Finn walked over to the white board. He popped the hush puppy in his mouth before he picked up a dry erase marker and wrote Ben’s name under the suspect list.

  When he swiped a line across Mama’s name, it took everything in me not to jump for joy. Instead, I stuffed my face with a big piece of fish dipped in the homemade tater sauce. I chewed with happiness.

  “I hate to think that Ben could do something like that, but you have to think about it.” Finn started his spiel, “Ben had hired Danny Shane for the construction. When I went to see Danny, he said that Ben fired him after he told Ben that the price was more than he’d thought and Ben was going to have to come up with the extra money before he could finish the job.”

  Danny had left that part out when I’d gone to see him and he told me was doing the work for free.

  “I’m thinking Ben got in the oh-no-what-am-I-going-to-do mode. He got a little crazy and his fuse was short, so when Mundy refused to cook the way Ben wanted him to, he fired him.” Finn seemed a little stuck.

  I helped him get more stuck.

  “Why would Ben kill Frank? That’s where I’m stumped.” I eyed the board.

  “Or we can find Mundy and see what he has to say.” Finn cocked a brow. “I went by there again. I wonder if he’s on the lam.”

  “Mundy would have more of a motive than Ben. It would make sense if he thought we were getting hot on his trail, or if he saw the headlines in the Chronicle where Mayor Ryland said we had more than one suspect.” I took the marker from Finn and I wrote as I talked. “According to Guy from the Frank’s class, Mundy’s career almost never happened because he and Frank got into a fight. Mundy got arrested. There’s an arrest record. Just by chance Mundy happened to call Ben for a job right in time for Frank’s visit to the diner?”

  “Very interesting.” Finn stepped back and took a long look at the board. “I’ll go to Le Fork in the morning and question them.”

  “Sure, but I’ve been there and talked to the people who worked there. Same thing. Mundy was a jerk and no one liked him.” I walked over to my computer and pulled up a new note to put in Frank’s case about the information Jolee had snuck out of Mundy’s file, leaving the part out about how I’d gotten the info.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Even with Finn and me spending more time together, I didn’t sleep any better. Ben was on my mind and I was sad that he could possibly have killed Frank.

  With thoughts of him and trying to figure out a true motive other than money, I tossed and turned all night with images of kissing Finn. We didn’t end up leaving the office until well past midnight. It was so cute how he followed me home, even though he had to go that way to go home too. He took it a step further and parked in front of my house, waiting for me to make it inside. Such a southern boyfriend thing to do. He was really fitting in well h
ere.

  I flipped over and looked at the clock, turning off my alarm before it even went off. Duke lifted his head as though he was anticipating my next move. He’d even gotten tired of my antsy bed rolling and laid on the floor most of the night. He jumped up when I peeled back the covers.

  “Let’s go outside.” I patted his head and we headed down the hall.

  When I let him out, the warmer temperature swooshed in the door even though it was still dark out. I locked the door behind him, flicked on the coffee maker, and padded down the hall to grab my shower.

  He’d be out there sniffing around, giving me enough time to get ready.

  Five minutes later, I’d showered and thrown on my sheriff’s uniform. Today I opted for a short-sleeved button-up shirt instead of the tee. It was a hair-pulled-up-in-a-ponytail morning. With a swipe of lip gloss and my walkie-talkie strapped on my shoulder, I was ready.

  “Betty,” I called across the walkie-talkie when I made my way back down the hall into the kitchen.

  “Hey, Sheriff. What ya been doing this morning?” Betty asked in an upbeat voice.

  The aroma from the coffee smelled so good. I poured a cup and leaned against the counter, staring out into my kitchen. Poppa wasn’t here.

  “I’m just getting ready to make my rounds.” My thoughts turned to Finn. “Do you know where Finn is? I need to talk to him about the Frank Von Lee case.” I let go of the button. The entire thing about me knowing where Mundy lived and me not telling him how was weighing on me. That was just another thing I shouldn’t keep from him.

  “He’s not been here yet either. It looks like he’s been doing some doodlin’ on that white board though.” Betty clicked. “And it looks like your mama is off the hook.”

  “Actually…” I felt flushed. “We started working together again.”

  Duke scratched the door. I pushed off of the countertop and walked over to let him in. I noticed Mrs. Brown’s back floodlight from her porch was already on. Duke walked in, licking his lips.

  “Did Mrs. Brown throw you a treat?” I asked the ornery dog.

  “Huh?” Betty asked.

  “Nothing.” My eyes drew up to the clock. “You haven’t seen Finn?” I asked again just for good measure because he said that he was going to go to the office first thing and officially call the Mayor to put me back on as lead.

  He had to do that to get me officially back on the case. Really it only involved a detailed list of why Mama was no longer a suspect. We agreed that both of us together solving the murder was better than one especially now that we had the Botox and handicap sticker case solved.

  “Now that I’m looking around, he might’ve been here.” I could hear her shuffling some papers in the background. “There are a bunch of papers on his desk from the lab.”

  “Papers?” I asked. “What kind of papers?”

  “Oh.” Betty’s voice escalated. “It’s from the lab. And Mundy’s name is on it.”

  “Betty.” I grabbed my keys and holster. “I’ll be right there.”

  Duke rushed to the door. He knew the drill. When I grabbed my holster, we were leaving.

  “Not this morning, buddy.” I bent down and rubbed his head before I gave him a scoop of his kibble, plus a little extra. “Mrs. Brown will let you out.”

  His ears drew back and his eyes drooped even more than usual. He sat down on his hind legs, pouting.

  “You be good. If things go well, this case will be over soon.” I tried not to look at him. Whenever he looked like that, it made me feel bad.

  The sun was just popping up over the rooves on Free Row. The gate was still a little damp from the dew. Birds were already chirping and playing around. It was a warm welcome that spring was here and the morning chill would soon be replaced by warmer temperatures.

  “Mrs. Brown?” I called when I opened the Wagoneer door. She was watching from somewhere over there.

  “Morning, Kenni,” her voice trilled. “I’m feeding the birds.”

  “That’s so nice of you.” I tried to hide my smile. She was so nosy. “I don’t see you.”

  She popped up out of the bush from the corner of her house closest to mine.

  “Here I am.” Curlers tight around her head, her fist gripped the top of her housecoat.

  “You’re up awfully early.” I glanced over the roof of the Jeep toward Finn’s house. His Dodge Charger wasn’t there, but it looked like Riley was already there working.

  “I was just keeping an eye on the neighborhood.” She fiddled with her fingers. “You know, now that you and Finn are living here, there’s not much going on. You’ve cleaned up Free Row.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Brown. Do you mind…” I started to say.

  “I don’t mind having Duke at all. He’s good company to me.” She finished my sentence. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Did I really have her watch him so much that she expected it?

  It was still early enough that there was no traffic and all the stoplights were green. It took me a total of five minutes to get to downtown. I passed Cowboy’s Catfish and drove up the street to Ben’s. Briefly I stopped in front of his diner. There was a faint light coming from the back.

  I jerked the Jeep into a spot on the opposite side of street and parked. There was no hesitation. I got out of the Wagoneer and ran across the street. Ben peeked his head out of the kitchen when he heard me knocking. A big smile on his face. Not that of a killer, I thought and smiled back.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked after he unlocked the door and let me in.

  “Coffee.” It was all he needed to hear before he waved me back. “I’d love a cup, but this is more of an official stop.” Finn should’ve been here, but I was good at thinking on my toes. I needed to feel Ben out before I got my day started.

  “Sure. What can I answer for you?” he asked, not a thought in his head that this official visit had to do with him.

  He pointed me to the coffee maker on the kitchen counter as he grabbed a couple of oven mitts and took out some golden brown biscuits.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your financial issues?” I busied myself with pouring the coffee and adding a little creamer.

  “Here you go.” He put a biscuit on the counter next to me. “I’ll take a cup.”

  I handed him mine and looked at him. He gave a flat smile. He lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip. I got another cup and took the plate with the biscuit and walked over to the preparation island and sat down on the stool.

  “You’re not my business partner.” He leaned back more and crossed his ankles. “It’s not something I’m proud of. The rent is going up and I want to purchase the building from the Shane Company, but Danny Shane won’t sell.”

  “Danny Shane owns the building?” Even though I was sheriff, I had no idea who owned what around here. “I assumed you owned it.”

  “No. So when I told him I needed the repairs done for the show, he was all too willing to do the stuff for free until he got into it and saw that it needed a whole lot more. That’s when he told me I had to pay for the work. There’s no way I could afford his price and that’s when I hired Riley. He’s half the price.” He shook his head. “When I confronted Danny about it, he let it slip that he wanted me out to put another shop in town.”

  “I went to visit Danny Shane and he did say that he was doing the work for free, but he failed to mention he is the landlord or that he wanted you out.” That raised suspicion, though not for the murder. He had an alibi. “By the looks of all the lines and the Chronicle, your business has picked up.”

  “Wait,” he stopped me. “Do you think I had anything to do with Frank Von Lee’s murder?” His brows furrowed.

  “I just have to cross all the T’s and dot the I’s.” I could see by the look on his face that he was hurt and mad. “When I heard you were in a financial bind, it only fit
since Frank’s reviews could either make or break a place. Bad press like Frank dying can be good press, and your business has picked up.”

  “Not enough to buy the building, Kenni.” He huffed through his nose. “I honestly can’t believe that you’d even think I could do something like that. Besides, if anyone has a perfect reason, it’s Mundy.”

  “You mean the fact that Frank was his teacher?” I asked.

  “You know about that?” he asked.

  “I looked into Mundy and his background. He has the perfect motive. I’m going to head on over to his place this morning and question him.” I looked down at the pat of butter that’d melted into a puddle on top of my biscuit.

  “You better get a jump on it. He’s an early riser and doesn’t get home until late.” Ben grabbed a Styrofoam cup from the counter and poured a cup of coffee.

  “I’m sorry, Ben. It’s just that I have to do my job and...” I stood up and picked up the biscuit.

  “No need to apologize. I understand. I’ve got to figure out a way to keep this diner open. I can’t rely on famous people dying to keep that door open.” He held the cup out in front of him. “Even though Mundy is a jerk and hotheaded, I don’t see him as a killer.”

  “People kill people out of the heat of passion. Almost lose their minds.” I took the coffee and offered a grateful smile. I was so glad Ben wasn’t sore at me. A lifelong friendship wasn’t one to let go of and I was fortunate to have a great friend in him.

  “The Culinary Channel is going to do a life story on Frank and they are going to come and do an interview.”

  “That’s great. Maybe that’ll bring in business,” I said before I exited the kitchen.

  “Kenni,” he called for me through the pass-through window. “I thought you were off the case. You aren’t doing something you shouldn’t, are you?”

  “Nope.” I shook my head. “Mama has a solid alibi and now that she’s no longer a suspect, there’s no reason I can’t continue.”

  “Good deal.” He smiled and nodded before I left.