The Remains of the Dead

by Wendy Roberts

  “Mrs. Toth called to report that someone appears to have vandalized her son’s home.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding?” Sadie gasped. She didn’t know if the officer bought her look of surprise, so she followed it up with, “Why on earth would someone do that?”

  “Takes all kinds,” the officer said, narrowing his eyes. “I just came from there and the place was trashed. Well, not the entire place. Just the living room. Stuff was thrown around and broken, and books were actually jammed into the drywall. There didn’t appear to be forced entry, and since you had a key—”

  She held up her hand to stop him. “Right. I had a set of keys but then turned them over, remember?”

  “You could’ve easily made a spare set.”

  “Yes, and as a matter of fact I did make an extra copy of the key. It’s routine for us to have at least two sets. The spare set went to the restoration company. They were to continue with the next stage of the work. They’ll be handling the painting and carpet replacement upstairs, as well as fixing the hardwood in the living room. The restoration companies I use are reputable, but maybe they forgot to lock up and some teens decided to party.” She was talking fast and forced herself to take a deep breath.

  “I’ll need the name and number of that company.”

  “Of course.”

  Sadie went to her den and retrieved a business card. She would have to call the restoration company in advance and warn them that the police would be calling regarding vandalism at the house. She would make sure they were aware that she didn’t think they were at fault; the police were just doing their job. She walked back to the foyer and felt marginally guilty when she handed the card to the officer.

  He looked at it and then tucked it into his pocket. Then he pulled his face down into a frown and addressed Sadie. “The Toth neighbors heard quite a ruckus there around one o’clock this morning. Where were you at that time, Miss Novak?”

  “I was at home. Asleep.”

  “Any witnesses available to verify that?”

  “My rabbit, Hairy, but besides him a friend of mine came over. We stayed up late, and since she’d had a couple of drinks I insisted she stay the night. You just missed her.”

  “Then I’ll need her name and number as well,” Officer Mason said evenly. He didn’t look all that pleased that she had a possible alibi.

  Sadie managed to look annoyed instead of nervous as she scratched out Maeva’s private residence number and sent Officer Mason on his way.

  At least it wasn’t a total lie. The two women had come back to Sadie’s and had drinks last night. Maeva had wanted every last detail about what had happened inside the house, and Sadie had required many shots of sambuca before she’d been willing to talk about it.

  Maeva hadn’t stayed the night so much as she’d just left when they were finishing discussing the matter, which had been this morning. Before she left, though, Sadie had the foresight to construct the alibi that she was certain would be required after Grant’s destructive temper tantrum.

  With Officer Mason’s car backing out of her driveway, Sadie called Maeva to give her a heads-up.

  “We did nothing wrong,” Maeva assured Sadie. “So stop sounding so guilty.”

  “Sure.” Easier said than done. “I think it’s best if we don’t talk again for a while. Until this whole Toth thing goes away.”

  “You’re being paranoid.”

  “There’s stuff you don’t know,” Sadie said, thinking of the slashed tires. “So far I’ve got people from practically every dimension out to get me, so, yeah, I’m a little freaked out.”

  After she hung up, Sadie showered, then washed down some aspirin with extra-strong coffee. Once she felt almost human, she headed to her office and powered up her computer. She figured that she would bury herself in alternate depths of paperwork and computer games.

  She finished her filing and began playing FreeCell on her computer. Although her hand was clicking on the cards, her mind was ticking off everything she knew about Trudy, Grant, and Kent. She got the feeling that she was missing something obvious. Something just out of reach. She snagged the phone on her desk and dialed Detective Petrovich’s cell line.

  “Can I buy you coffee?” Sadie asked after he grunted a greeting.

  “People might start to talk if we keep getting together,” he pointed out.

  “Since when do you care what anyone thinks?”

  “I’m off at six. I can meet you at the Blue Dog at eight.”

  Sadie’s hand was numb from FreeCell by six, so she stopped by the market to pick up some fruit and some kitty litter for Hairy before meeting Petrovich.

  She found the coffee shop (converted from an old house), and when the detective showed up she was already on her second latte, which didn’t help her nerves. Petrovich was dressed for casual comfort in Levi’s and a leather jacket over a gray sweatshirt, but he still didn’t fit in with the university crowd that filled the place. He also had dark bags under his eyes that begged an explanation, but Sadie didn’t pry.

  She greeted him and bought him a coffee, plain and black—nothing fancy-shmancy—and a tuna melt to go with it.

  “Thanks for agreeing to meet me,” she said as they sat down at a cramped table against a bright orange wall.

  He shrugged. “My other choice was to spend the night unpacking.”

  “You moved?” Moving was enough to put bags under anyone’s eyes.

  “Yup. Had to.” After a pause he added. “My ex is going for a bigger chunk of my cash. I needed a smaller place, so I got one about a block from here.”

  “Oh.” Sadie reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Dean, I’m sorry. This must be a rough time for you.”

  “I’m good.” He tugged his fingers away and added, “What do I need with a bedroom all to myself? A bachelor place is fine. More than fine.” And the anger in his eyes challenged her to say it wasn’t.

  “Sure,” Sadie said.

  He clapped his hands together and changed the subject. “So, what’s up? Is this about you tossing the Toth house?” He smiled at her from over his coffee cup.

  “That’s not funny.”

  “Depends on what side you’re looking from.” His grin widened. “From what I gather, all the guys at the station are getting quite a kick out of it. They’re thinking the blood ’n’ guts girl finally went off the deep end.”

  She winced.

  “They think I’ve flipped out.”

  “Some. Others think you’re just on a crime spree from seeing too much.”

  Ouch.

  Her gaze grabbed his and held.

  “I didn’t steal that brooch, and I didn’t toss the Toths’ house.”

  “I’m not saying you did, although that’s exactly what Sylvia Toth is saying.”

  Oh God.

  “You know, it would be good if you just lay low and stay away from that woman.”

  “I intend to,” Sadie assured him.

  Sadie waited for Petrovich to take a sip of his coffee, then drank a little of her own. After a deep breath she forged ahead.

  “I asked you to meet with me ’cause I’m hoping you’ll back me up. Maybe you can put the rumor mill to rest by tossing out some facts on the situation, or at least a good character reference. Scene-2-Clean will be hit hard if word spreads I’m a vandal and a thief.”

  He nodded seriously. “Don’t know how much help I’ll be, but sure, if I hear anyone bad-mouthing you, I’ll set them straight.”

  “That’s all I ask.” She offered him a bright smile.

  “Of course, if we had someone else to put out there as a suspect, it sure would help.”

  “I’m working on that.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t like the sound of that. Leave the investigations to us.”

  “I’m just trying to save my ass, Dean. You know damn well the force doesn’t have the manpower to put it all out for a jewelry theft, house break-ins, or tire slashing.”

  “Tire slashing
?” He leaned in.

  “My company van had its tires slashed, and the culprit left me a message in dirt on the van telling me to back off from the Toth house.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “A couple days ago.”

  “Damn it, Sadie, you should’ve called me!” He thumped the table hard, and her coffee sloshed out of the cup.

  Petrovich dug out a notepad, and she filled him in on what few details there were.

  “Best advice I can give you is to stay away from there,” he said, waving his pen in her face. “Things will settle. Time will pass. Everyone will forget about the Toth situation when the next thing comes down the pike.”

  “Some might forget, but others won’t. It only takes one to keep the rumors going. I rely on business sent my way by SPD and the ME’s office. If they suspect that there’s even a slim chance I’m guilty, nobody will send business my way. I can’t blame them. I’ll keep away from the Toth place, but I need you to look harder into Kent Lasko.”

  Sadie intended to avoid Mrs. Toth at all costs, so she was stunned when she returned home, pulled into her driveway, and saw Mrs. Toth zip her small Chevy up behind her. Now what?

  Nervously, Sadie climbed out of her car and watched as Sylvia Toth approached with a look of blatant, unadulterated hatred.

  Uh-oh, this can’t be good.

  “How dare you!” Sylvia shouted furiously as she approached. “What the hell’s your problem, anyway?”

  Sadie took a step back.

  “What kind of a sicko takes advantage of someone’s grief by trashing their dead son’s home?”

  “I’m sorry to hear your son’s place was damaged, but I can assure you that I wasn’t the one who did it.” Sadie stood her ground and met the woman’s gaze. “Now why don’t you go on home before either one of us says or does something we’ll regret.”

  Sadie turned and walked to her front door, hoping Mrs. Toth would just get back in her car and drive off. She didn’t. She followed Sadie and continued to shout.

  “I should’ve known there was something wrong with you,” Sylvia raged, pointing her finger accusingly at Sadie. “Anyone who’s in your line of work, who gets their kicks working with blood and gore, must have something wrong upstairs.”

  She tapped the side of her head and then made the cuckoo sign. Sadie’s blood began to percolate, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming back. The only thing that kept her from telling the old biddy off was the reminder that the poor woman had just lost her family.

  “I understand your anger, but like I said, I did not trash your son’s living room,” Sadie said between clenched teeth.

  “How did you know it was just the living room, huh?” Mrs. Toth demanded triumphantly.

  “The police told me,” Sadie said. She glanced across the street, where a curious neighbor was unloading groceries from the trunk of her car. Most of the soccer moms and the nine-to-five dads had avoided her like the plague since they’d discovered her profession. A shouting match on her front lawn was not exactly going to win her any neighborhood popularity contests.

  “Why don’t you come inside? I’ll make tea and we can talk about this like mature, rational people,” Sadie suggested magnanimously.

  “That would assume that we’re both sane, but apparently only one of us is,” Mrs. Toth screamed shrilly. “I wouldn’t be caught dead spending time with you.”

  “That’s exactly how most people do end up spending time with me,” Sadie muttered to herself.

  Mrs. Toth spun on her heel. Sadie should’ve got while the getting was good, but she couldn’t help but blurt, “I don’t think Grant killed Trudy.”

  Mrs. Toth froze comically with her right foot lifted in midstep. She turned around ever so slowly, and Sadie hated the look on the woman’s face—anger first, but then desperation mingled with hope. Sadie knew that she would’ve worn that exact same expression had someone told her that they didn’t believe Brian had taken his own life.

  “What did you say?” Mrs. Toth whispered.

  “I don’t have any evidence, you understand, just a gut feeling and…” She gave her head a shake. “Forget it. I shouldn’t even discuss this with you.”

  Mrs. Toth straightened and took a step toward her.

  “A cup of tea might be a good idea.”

  Once inside Sadie’s kitchen, Mrs. Toth sat with her hands tightly folded on top of the table while Sadie took as long as possible to make one small pot of tea. When she’d fussed enough with cream, sugar, and flowery napkins, like this was some kind of a garden party, she took a seat across from Mrs. Toth.

  “I have no hidden agenda here,” Sadie began. “This tragedy has already torn you apart, and I don’t want to hurt you any more than you’ve already been hurt.”

  Mrs. Toth simply stared into her cup of tea. A slim tear traced its way down her cheek.

  “I’ve never believed Grant was capable of murdering Trudy. It just doesn’t make sense. He was just so damned devoted to her. Trudy and his stores—those were the two things he loved the most.” She sighed and took a sip of tea, then put the mug down and looked up at Sadie. “I don’t mean that he didn’t care for me. He did. It’s just that his love for Trudy was everything. He worshiped her. As much as he loved that damn sportswear store, he would’ve given it all up if Trudy had said boo. She was everything to him.”

  “Tell me about the stores,” Sadie said, trying to make small talk.

  “Grant prided himself on that damned store and everything in it. He wouldn’t even consider stocking any of the top-selling brands if the company had so much as a hint of unethical business practices. He said that he felt globally responsible for the products he sold.” She smiled in memory, but then her smile faltered. “Does that sound like the kind of man who turns around and butchers his wife?”

  “No. No, it doesn’t.” Sadie shook her head sadly. She knew she shouldn’t share what was in the forefront of her mind, but she couldn’t see a way around it. “I have to tell you something now, Mrs. Toth, and you’re going to think I’m crazy. Please, just hear me out.”

  Mrs. Toth gave her a look that said she already thought that someone who mopped up body parts for a living wasn’t all there.

  “Sometimes when I clean someone’s home, I feel a special connection to the person who has passed. I know it sounds nuts, and it sounds the same way to me when I say it out loud, but there are times when the person who died communicates with me.”

  “I don’t understand. You mean you feel ghosts when you’re cleaning a house?”

  Sadie wondered what she’d gotten herself into, but she pushed on. She had nothing to lose, since Sylvia Toth already thought she was talking to a lunatic.

  “I can actually see the spirit of the person who’s passed. Sometimes, for a short period of time, I can even communicate with them.”

  The woman didn’t run screaming from the house, but she didn’t embrace the idea, either.

  “You’re telling me that you saw my son’s ghost and he said he didn’t kill his wife?”

  Sadie shook her head. “No. Grant didn’t say anything like that, at least not directly. I saw Trudy, and she did tell me that.”

  One look at Mrs. Toth and Sadie knew she was losing her audience. Disbelief radiated from her every pore, but still Sadie went on.

  “Trudy didn’t speak to me, but she kept showing me hand gestures. That’s why I asked around and found out that she was deaf.”

  “You think she was trying to tell you something?”

  “Yes. Unfortunately, I can’t control how long spirits are in a state of limbo. She left before I could get the full message.”

  “But she did say, I mean, sign, something to you?” Mrs. Toth asked, still looking at Sadie like she was a crazy person, but Sadie could tell that part of her really wanted to believe.

  “I think that what Trudy was trying desperately to tell me before she slipped over was that Grant wasn’t the person who kill
ed her.”

  “Then did she tell you who did do it?”

  “Not exactly, but when I asked her who it was, she showed me this hand gesture.” Sadie held up her fingers in imitation of what Trudy had shown her.

  “The peace sign?”

  “It’s also the letter K, in American Sign Language. I think Trudy was trying to spell out the name of the person who killed her, but she passed over before she could finish.”

  “Someone whose name starts with the letter K?”

  “Yes.”

  Neither of them spoke for a full minute. Sadie was wondering if Mrs. Toth was afraid to bolt for the door.

  Mrs. Toth shrugged her shoulders. “None of this makes sense to me.”

  “And I don’t expect it to,” Sadie rushed on. “But there’s more. Kent Lasko was inside your son’s house the very first time I went there to clean. Later, he told me he was there to claim an emerald necklace that he’d given to Trudy. He needed to take it from the house because”—Sadie paused, not wanting to tarnish this woman’s image of her daughter-in-law—“he said the necklace belonged to his mother.”

  “Kent’s mother, Ramona, is a good friend of mine. I know she does have an emerald necklace that she plans to pass on to a daughter-in-law one day. Why on earth would Trudy have Ramona’s necklace?”

  Sadie shrugged.

  “Trudy didn’t even like to own fancy jewelry,” Mrs. Toth continued. “That diamond brooch was a gift to me from my husband, God rest his soul, but Trudy wouldn’t even wear it. She was terrified of losing it. That’s why she kept it hidden away in a file cabinet. She said that she’d keep it in there and only take it out on special occasions. When she did wear it, she touched it continuously to make sure it didn’t fall off. I was hoping one day I’d have a granddaughter who would wear it.” She paused and glared at Sadie. “That’s why I noticed right away it was missing. I can’t believe you took it. I trusted you.”

  Sadie shook her head vehemently. “I know the police found that brooch in my coat pocket, but I swear on my brother’s grave that I wasn’t the one who stole it. I had a date with Kent Lasko, Mrs. Toth. I was a fool to go out with him. He obviously asked me out to dinner only to plant that brooch on me.”