“We’re not moving him,” I snapped, feeling the strong hold of tension seizing my shoulders and neck. “If anyone saw us and called the cops, we’d be accessories.”
They all stared at the shallow grave.
“Do you think Hank knows?” Edna asked.
“That his good friend was murdered and buried under his parking lot?” I shook my head. “He seemed to wonder about him. And Hank was the one who brought up the time capsule. He wouldn’t have done that if he knew a body was buried with it.”
“Something bad must have happened for Ida to attack this guy,” Sylvia said. “For all her gruff ways, she’s a softy at heart.”
“Did any of you know her back when this happened?”
They all shook their heads.
“Well, we need a plan,” I said. “One that won’t send us to jail.”
“We could fill in the hole and pretend we never saw it,” Sylvia said. “Who knows, they might build on top of it and no one would ever know.”
It was a thought, but with our luck, things wouldn’t turn out as expected. Plus, there was a dead man to consider. This wasn’t something that could be swept under the rug and forgotten about.
Or buried.
“Mars,” Mrs. Janowski said hesitantly, quite uncharacteristic of her. “Let’s fill in the hole. Whatever happened back then, it’s history. It shouldn’t be meddled with.”
I stared at her, the light on her head bobbing back and forth, adding to the chaos that cluttered my thoughts. “You’re actually saying to ignore this? You. Mrs. Janowski, who meddles in all things dangerous and lethal, are telling me to turn my back?”
“Ida will go to jail. I stick by my friends.”
“She wasn’t your friend when this happened.” I jabbed a pointed finger at the hand.
“Yes, but I know my friends. I never pick a dud.”
Sylvia snorted. “Did you forget about your needlepoint-loving friend?”
Mrs. Janowski stuck her nose slightly in the air. “She was nice. The needlepoint mural of me was quite flattering.”
“You were seated on a throne.”
Mrs. Janowski shrugged. “She knows I’m of quality stock.”
“She’s nuttier than a gallon of peanut butter.”
“Either way, I stand by Ida.”
Sylvia waved a hand. “For what it’s worth, I want to forget this night happened. Ida is a decent woman and she doesn’t deserve jail, no matter what we found. Let’s fill in the hole.”
I looked to Edna, the one whose moral compass normally pointed in the right direction.
She slowly nodded. “Fill it.”
Since the three agreed, I was overruled. Perhaps it was for the best. I couldn’t see a positive outcome.
“Should we at least tell Hank?” I asked.
“No!” they squawked.
Edna cleared her throat and composed her features, shocked at her sudden outburst. “Their relationship is already strained. He’d go to the police.” She put her hand on my arm. “Think about what this would do to Jack.”
Jack.
That sealed it for me. It would shatter him if he found out his grandma had a murky past. It was hard to believe Ida could kill anyone. Crazy, really. Yet, that ghostly hand told me otherwise.
* * *
I didn’t think I had slept at all as I waited for Brett to come home. But as a rustling sound awoke me, I realized I must have. It sure didn’t feel like it. With my cheek squished into the pillow, I watched Brett pull a shirt over his head and tug it down over his abs. He was quite mesmerizing in the morning sunlight. He caught me staring and smiled.
“I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just leaving.”
“I didn’t even know you came back,” I mumbled, words getting lost in the cotton-stuffed pillow.
“Only to shower and change. I have to meet T at the new clients’ to go over the security protocol with the new guy.”
“New guy?”
“Just hired him yesterday. Thankfully, he’s able to start right away. That’ll free up my time to find more clients.”
“What time?” I asked, wiping my eyes and perhaps a bit of crusted drool from my mouth. “I hardly see you as it is.”
The bedroom door swung open, and Emily barged in. “I’m ready to go.” She sent a sunny smile to Brett. “It’s not going to be another all-nighter, is it? I mean, I don’t mind helping, but a woman needs her beauty sleep. Otherwise, she’ll start looking like that.” Emily jabbed a finger at me.
I didn’t argue since I probably looked like death’s twin sister. But Brett could have come to my defense. Instead he said, “It shouldn’t be a long night, and you got your beauty sleep last night. I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.”
As soon as she was gone, Brett closed the door then knelt on the bed, his hands on either side of my pillow as he peered down at me.
“Ignore Emily.” He smiled widely. “You’re beautiful.”
“Liar.”
“It’s the truth. If you could see what I see, you’d believe me.”
“I see myself in the mirror every morning with bedhead, puffy eyes, and a pillow crease or two.”
“Well, there’s that too.” He cracked a smile then stood and placed a small kiss on my nose, steering clear of my dragon breath. “What are your plans for the day?”
“Most likely argue with Rand and try to keep Mrs. J out of mischief.” I stopped.
The body.
I had gone back and forth with wanting to tell Brett about the man Ida had . . .
Murdered.
I still couldn’t believe what had transpired the night before. What would Rand do once he found out the body was still there? Would he find out?
“What’s wrong, sweet thing?” He was already across the room, his hand on the doorknob.
“It’s nothing. Just remembered something that needs to be addressed at the Hog.”
He nodded and pulled the door open. “I’ll see you tonight. Go back to sleep. You look tired.”
“I thought you love the way I look in the morning.”
“Yes, but there are two different kinds of tired. One from having too little sleep. And one from me not letting you sleep,” he said with a quick wink before closing the door behind him.
By the time his footsteps had receded, I was out of bed, heading for the shower. While I desperately wanted that extra hour or two of sleep as prescribed, there was a dead man to think about. Hopefully the ladies didn’t go back after we left.
The phone rang. I leaned over the bed to swipe it from the nightstand, hoping it was Mrs. Janowski.
It wasn’t.
“I thought I made myself clear last night,” Rand’s feral growl came through the phone.
“Why are you yelling at me? It’s not even eight o’clock yet.”
“The construction crew is at a dead stop.”
“Oh, no. They didn’t—"
“I have cops swarming the lot as we speak.”
“You left me with three senior citizens and a dead body. What was I supposed to do?”
“Dig up the body and dump it in the nearest river.”
“It’d wash ashore and we’d have the same problem.”
“We? There is no we!”
I let out a slow breath. I understood his anger, but maybe this was for the best. The past obviously affected Ida. Her drinking proved that. Perhaps if she faced it head-on she could heal.
And go to jail.
What had happened all those years ago?
“Mars!” Rand barked.
“What?”
“Get over here. Now!”
He hung up.
Shower first and then contact Mrs. Janowski. I had to let her know the police were now involved. Before I could reach the bedroom door to leave, it swung open.
“Mrs. J?” I stared at her as she invaded my bedroom.
“Hurry! There’s no time to lose.”
“What are you doing here? I was just going to—”
“Our scent? Mrs. J, they’re at the Hog. We didn’t do anything wrong. Unfortunately, Ida did.”
“Our shoe prints and tire tracks are at the crime scene. It won’t take them long to come knocking on our door. We’ll head to the border now.”
“I’m not going to Mexico.”
“Mexico?” she questioned. “I can’t speak Spanish. We’re going to Canada. It’s closer, and I like hockey.”
“Mrs. J, calm down. You’re overreacting. The lot is covered in tire tracks and footprints from the construction crew. Plus, we’re there a lot. Of course our prints would be there.”
“They could still figure it out.”
“Figure out what? That we tried to dig up a time capsule and found a body instead?”
“Tampering with evidence!” She turned and paced the small space between the door and the window. “I know I’m a tough cookie, but I’m not jail tough.”
“You aren’t going to jail.”
She stopped. “But Ida will.”
“What did she tell you?”
Mrs. Janowski shook her head. “We couldn’t get much out of her, but she said she killed him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Edna and Sylvia are going to her house now.”
“Then what?”
“Canada.”
“If you help her escape, then you won’t have to worry about tampering with evidence because they’ll add on aiding and abetting.”
“She’s a friend.”
“I know. She’s also an adult who did something unthinkable.”
“She must’ve had a reason.”
“I’m sure she did. Since I don’t know the reason, it’s hard to understand.”
“Well, I’m determined to help her. It’s why we started the Fearsome Foursome. We want to help people. How can we do that if we can’t even help our own crew?”
I didn’t say anything. No assuring words came to mind, and Mrs. Janowski was determined to help Ida.
“What do you think of the name Phyllis?” she asked.
“What?” I asked, confused at the abrupt change of subject.
“Phyllis. Do you think Ida could pass as a Phyllis?”
“I guess.” I couldn’t say it was a fitting name, but it was as good of a name as any. “Why?”
“Phyllis died.”
I waited, wondering if she would expound on that statement. Finally, she said, “You remember Phyllis. She was the one in the self-defense class and the senior center.”
“I don’t remember.” The only thing I could recall was Sylvia’s leopard-print leotard and chaos.
“The one with the saggy skin,” she added.
That didn’t help much. It was a senior center.
“Anyway, she died before she could collect her fake ID.”
“What could she possibly have wanted with a fake ID?”
“She wanted to be younger. A ninety-four-year-old trying to pass as sixty-five. Imagine that.” Mrs. Janowski smiled with a small shrug. “Since she can’t use the ID, Ida can.”
“Do they look alike?”
“I’ll slip the guy a little money to switch the photo.”
“Sounds like you have it all covered.” I bent down to stretch, straightening with a sigh. “Good luck.”
She eyed me. “You’re not coming.”
“No.”
“And you’re not trying to stop me?”
“No. Do you want me to?”
“I was expecting more of an argument.”
“Normally, you’d get one, but I don’t want anything to do with this.” I opened a drawer and dug out a shirt. “Not that I don’t care, but I’m conflicted. I consider Ida a friend, but I can’t condone killing a person. However, I also don’t want to be the one to send her to jail. So,” I turned to Mrs. Janowski, “good luck and stay safe. I’ll collect your mail for you.”
Sounds of footsteps clamored up the stairs. Maybe not clamored. But it was a vigilant pace of multiple feet. Edna and Sylvia, both winded, appeared at my bedroom door. I needed an alarm system on my house.
“She’s gone,” Edna said, fanning herself. “Left a note saying the truth could never come out.”
“Where would she go?” Mrs. Janowski asked.
Sylvia shrugged. “She doesn’t have any family besides Hank and Jack. And we’re her only friends.”
“We need to find her,” Edna said. “There’s no telling what she’ll do.”
“No,” Mrs. Janowski said, her lips downturned. “Mars is right. I hate to say this, but she did us a favor. If we’re questioned by the police, then we can answer honestly that we don’t know where she is.”
“But what about Ida?” Edna asked. “She has hardly a penny to her name.”
“She’ll make do for now.” Mrs. Janowski paced along the small space. “Right now the police are probably investigating the scene. They have no idea who the victim is. It’ll take them time to find out Ida had anything to do with it.”
“Unless Rand tells them,” I said.
Edna blanched.
Mrs. Janowski smacked a fisted hand into her palm. “We need to stop him.” She looked pointedly at me. “You find Rand and butter him up while the rest of us come up with a plan.”
Since Rand had already ordered me to the Hog, I nodded.
“Good,” Mrs. Janowski said on a long exhale. “Girls, let’s get out of her way and meet at my house. Mars, call or come over as soon as you have any news.”
“I will.”
As Mrs. Janowski shooed the ladies out, Sylvia looked back at me with a sly smile. “Tell Brett to go easy on those handcuffs tonight.”
Panicked that she had noticed them on the headboard, I said, “He put them there so he wouldn’t forget to take them to work.”
“And yet he’s gone and the cuffs remain.” She chuckled as she walked out the door.
“Stop teasing the poor girl,” Edna said, her voice becoming distant as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “You know she turns bright red. One of these days she’ll have an aneurism.”
“If that ever happened, it’d be because of Brett, not embarrassment,” Sylvia snickered.
If only that were true, I thought miserably. I missed him.
Chapter 5
I pulled alongside the construction zone at the Hog. A large section had already been taped off by the police. In the center sat a mound of excavated dirt with a limb protruding from the top. My stomach turned in response.
With a curse, I turned off the car and walked over to Rand. The crunching gravel under my feet alerted him to my presence. However, he chose to ignore the sound and me and continued to look out over the grounds, watching the police warily.
I knew better than to talk. Instead, I stood quietly out of arm’s reach and watched as the forensic team took over.
Photos were snapped from every angle. Soil samples labeled. Measurements taken. The grounds thoroughly analyzed. And still, Rand didn’t say a word. I wondered if he hadn’t heard my approach and I was just standing here like a ninny.
Unsure if I should sneak away or clear my throat, he finally said, “This could ruin me.”
“Ruin you? How?”
He slowly turned, his narrowed eyes holding me in place. “I put every penny I had into this. It’s now a murder scene.”
“They’ll clean it up and we’ll pave over.”
“You were supposed to clean it up.”
“You left me with three senior citizens. We don’t know how to dispose of dead bodies.”
“Then you should have called me.”
“And have you yell at us again?” I fisted a hand on my hip. “What would you have done?”
“I don’t know. My bar will be tainted before it’s even built.”
I waved off his concern. “It’s a biker bar, not a ladies’ club.”
His jaw tightened, making it twitch. “Mars, this is serious.”
“I know. But t
his isn’t the time to worry.” I looked over the ripped-apart lot, police poking into the freshly churned dirt pile. “Right now we have Ida to consider.”
“I don’t give a damn about Ida.”
“I know, but I have a favor to ask. Can you leave out her name if the police question you?”
“Why should I?”
“Ida needs time. And it’d be an easier blow for Hank and Jack if the news came out slowly rather than all at once. It’s hard to digest. Anyway, there’s no sense for you to be in the middle of all this. Just play dumb and I promise to make this right.”
“How?”
“Well, I can’t do anything for Ida, but I can spin this mess into something more palatable when we open. I always had to put out fires as an events coordinator. I’m sure I can think of something for this . . . situation.”
His jaw still twitched, but he finally gave a sharp nod and held out his hand to shake on it. As soon as we clasped hands, I realized it was a mistake. He yanked me forward so I had to tilt my head back to look at him.
“You better make good on your word.”
“We really need to get you signed up for an employee-management course.”
His twitchy jaw muscles convulsed once more before he pushed away.
“I said I promise. I’ll keep my word. Don’t worry about bad publicity. I can flip it to work for us.”
“Then you can start now,” he replied, nodding over to the news van that was pulling into the lot.
Crap.
* * *
“How did it go with Rand?” Mrs. Janowski asked as soon as she opened the front door to let me in.
Stepping inside, I saw the ladies were gathered, plus two extra. Kym and Aaron.
Kym quickly stood, as if she were hoping for an escape route. “I just came over to tell Mrs. J and the others the good news. Aaron and I should be leaving now. You all have a lot to discuss.” She walked over and hugged me to her, whispering, “I’m leaving this one all to you. Come over for drinks tomorrow. I’ll make hot cider.”
I nodded.
Kym straightened. “Good luck.” With a tilt of her head, she cued Aaron that it was time to go.
“But I didn’t even say hi to Mars yet.”
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