Picture Perfect Murder (Ryli Sinclair 1)

by Jenna St James

  * * *

  Mom and I made it to church with ten minutes to spare. Mom stopped to talk with an elderly couple as I made my way to an open pew. I couldn’t help but notice a larger crowd than normal. I had just put my purse under the pew when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

  “I’m just so shocked at what’s happened,” Sandy Trindle said as she slid closer to the front of her pew directly behind me. “I wonder when they’ll hold an election to replace the position that’s open now on the church board.”

  Was she for real?

  “I overheard June Johnson tell Barbara Nelson during Sunday school that at the last church board meeting Dr. Garver and Pastor Williams got into a heated dispute over money,” Sandy said.

  Pastor Williams? Hmmm…definitely worth looking into.

  Just then Anna Johnson sat down next to Sandy. Anna, June’s daughter, always looked so glamorous. I remembered her being at Legends the day after the murder. By the way her smooth tresses moved over her tan shoulders, her blow out was still holding up.

  “Well,” Anna said as she tucked a blonde strand behind her ear, “I heard Dr. Garver was gunning for a lot of people. She had Dan Perkins jumping through so many hoops, I’m surprised he’s stuck around this long. I bet he did a jig when he found out she was dead.”

  I was about to ask Anna to elaborate when the piano started, signaling the start of service. Mom and Paige both slid into the pew beside me, and I decided to file the rest of the questions away until a later time.

  The sermon seemed to drag on extra long. I wasn't sure if it was because there were so many people and Pastor Williams wanted to make sure everyone got an extra helping of God's amazingness, or if he was just enjoying the sound of his own voice. Finally the piano began playing the closing song and we all filed out.

  Mom, Paige, and I decided to go out to eat after church. Since there were only two restaurants in town open on Sundays, it wasn't a hard decision to make on where to eat. We decided on the Country Cafe. We were just about to be seated when Dr. Powell walked in alone.

  Knowing this would be a perfect opportunity to see what he knew about the murder, I didn't even ask what the others thought when I said, "Hey, Doc, want to sit with us today?"

  Dr. Powell looked slightly embarrassed but recovered nicely. "That would be lovely. That is, if you ladies don't mind the company."

  My mom blushed. I knew she thought I was doing this as a hook up, but this time I just wanted to pick his brain. "We'd love it if you joined us," my mom said.

  The four of us were led to a back corner booth—a perfect place for a little privacy. Mom and Doc both stopped many times on the way back to the booth to chat with people. Paige and I gave up waiting on them and went ahead and sat down...Paige on one side of the booth, me on the other.

  "What's going on? Why did you invite Dr. Powell to join us?" Paige asked.

  I leaned over and whispered, "I want to see if he knows anything more. I heard he and Dr. Garver were at odds over school board stuff...maybe he'll give us some clues."

  We didn't have long to wait before Mom and Doc joined us. Mom slid in next to me and Doc sat next to Paige.

  "It's very nice of you all to invite me over. I usually just sit by myself most Sundays."

  I gave mom a little nudge with my elbow. Obviously he was giving her a signal that he was single and available. She chose to ignore me.

  The waitress came over and took our order. With the small talk out of the way, I decided to forge ahead.

  "Doc, have you heard anything more about Dr. Garver's death?" I didn't say murder because I didn't want to put him off if he was in the mood to talk.

  Stirring his coffee he didn't say anything. Just when I thought he wasn't going to answer he said, "Not really, just what I've heard around town. You know how people talk...but nothing concrete."

  Darn. We weren't getting anywhere.

  "Although, I did hear that there didn't appear to be a struggle, so my guess is whoever did this either has to be amazingly strong or was somehow able to subdue Dr. Garver."

  Exactly what I thought.

  "I'm sure Chief Kimble will figure it out soon, though."

  Mom gave me a look. I knew that look. That was a stop-right-this-minute-young-lady look.

  "I'm sure he will, Martin," my mom said softly.

  Martin? I mouthed to Paige. Since when did my mom call Dr. Powell by his first name? Paige raised her eyebrows and smiled.

  Our meal came and we dug in. I didn't really pay much attention to what Mom and Doc talked about. I was more interested in the fact the suspect either had to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's body double, or someone who knew how to subdue someone. There had to be tons of ways to subdue someone, so that didn't get me too far ahead of where I currently was.

  We bid farewell to Doc and headed back to Mom's. Paige and I went upstairs to call Aunt Shirley and see what our next move should be. I put her on speakerphone.

  “Hey, Aunt Shirley.”

  “About damn time. Where’ve you been?”

  I rolled my eyes at Paige. “Umm...church. It's Sunday after all." I added that last part as a dig, like I thought she might be going to Hell for skipping church.

  She obviously didn't care. “I’ve been thinking,” Aunt Shirley said as she took a deep breath and then started hacking.

  “Put that damn thing away! You’re seriously gonna hurt yourself!” I knew she was puffing away on that ridiculous e-cig.

  “Anyway,” she continued as though I hadn’t spoken, “I know you said you were going to go see that loudmouth Iris on Monday. Maybe we should all go together. She did say she may have some information for you, didn’t she?”

  I chewed on my lower lip. I wasn’t sure what to do. Did I really want Aunt Shirley and Paige with me when I talked with Iris about the murder?

  Sensing my hesitation, Aunt Shirley said, “Do you even know the questions you’re gonna ask her?”

  I sighed. She was probably right, I would need her help.

  “I can come,” Paige whispered.

  Nodding to Paige I said to Aunt Shirley, “Fine. We’ll come by to pick you up a little before seven tomorrow night.”

  “Damn right you will. I want to make sure my Falcon is doing okay.”

  An hour later, Matt's shift at the fire station finally ended. He pulled into the driveway and came inside to talk with Mom. By the time Mom stopped fussing over and feeding Matt, I was ready to pull my hair out. I love my mom, but I can only be away from my place for so long before I start climbing the walls.

  After promising Mom I’d be careful and not do anything foolish, I hopped in Matt’s truck. He took me to Oak Grove to retrieve my Honda. I drove it back to my house and parked it along the street in front of my house. My driveway was too small for two cars. Matt insisted on coming in and checking to make sure everything was safe before leaving.

  A few minutes later, when I was finally alone, I sat down and started writing a list of the people I had interacted with on Friday and Saturday. There were all the ladies at Legends, Doc Powell, and Coach Perkins. That was pretty much it. Did Garrett seriously believe that one of the ladies at Legends hacked up Dr. Garver?

  There was no way. We obviously missed something. I was still pondering the list when my cell phone rang. “Hey, Garrett,” I said, trying to go for casual.

  “Did you get me that list?”

  Obviously he was going for formal and gruff. “Yes, but I think you’re on the wrong track. It was mostly old ladies from Legends.” There was no way I was going to tell him I’d driven by Coach Perkins’s house. “We must have missed something. Maybe I was targeted because I’m writing a piece for the paper and asking questions. And when you put me up against Hank, I’m the easier target.”

  I could sense Garrett mulling that idea over. Sighing he said, “Maybe. I just wish I knew for sure. How’re you doing otherwise?”

  “I’m doing okay. Matt dropped me back home, so I’m just piddling around.”

&nbs
p; “Well, I’m stuck here at the station for a bit. I need to finish going over a few things.”

  Damn. “Well, I have that list if you need it. But like I said, it’s just the ladies from Legends.”

  “Please tell me you won’t do anything crazy tomorrow.”

  Double damn. I hated the fact he assumed I’d do something rash, and I also hated the fact I was going to have to lie. There was no way I was going to tell him that the three of us were going to talk to Iris tomorrow night.

  “Nope, nothing rash,” I said as I crossed my fingers.

  * * *

  Monday morning had the office hopping with the distribution of the paper. I filled Mindy in on what happened at my house Saturday afternoon, which afforded me the opportunity to feel a little sorry for myself and hear sympathetic concerns and coos, none of which would ever come from Hank.

  Luckily Hank never stayed in the office on distribution day, so I didn’t have to get another earful about how I missed another opportunity for the paper by not getting pictures of the heart or something equally disturbing. I also filled Mindy in on everything else Paige, Aunt Shirley, and I had been working on.

  “So what’s next?” she asked.

  “Tonight we’re going to Iris’s house to hear what she has to tell us. I’m not sure what kind of gossip she has, but it must be pretty good because she obviously didn’t want to share it there at the salon.”

  Mindy patted me on my arm, her silver bracelets clinking together. “Please be careful. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing that from everyone, but I just wouldn’t know what I’d do if something bad happened to you.”

  “Don’t worry, I'm taking Paige and Aunt Shirley with me...we'll be careful. So have you heard anything more about Garver as far as the murder goes?”

  Mindy leaned in as though she didn’t want anyone to overhear. Not that she needed to worry, the office was empty except for the two of us. “Hank said a source told him that there was no real sign of a struggle, which probably means she knew the person that killed her. She just let him in.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured it that way, too. In fact, I mentioned that to Kimble when I was taking pictures that night.”

  “I heard there were no defensive wounds. Why do you think that would be?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “You’d think she would have tried to fight back…unless she was somehow prevented.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking!” I could hear the excitement in Mindy’s voice.

  “I’ll tell you what, if Iris gives us anything useful, I’ll let you know.”

  I spent the next couple of hours Googling ways a person could subdue someone without the victim fighting back…and basically succeeded in creeping myself out. There were a lot of scary people who knew a lot of scary ways to hurt someone. At this rate, it would take me forever to narrow down a way Dr. Garver was killed.

  The only thing that made sense was either the killer slipped up behind her without her knowing and somehow subdued her, which meant the killer had to be a pretty big guy to manage that. Or the killer gave her something to knock her out. But how did he manage that? Did he put it in her drink? Did he inject her?

  I was pretty sure Garrett had some kind of answers from the phone conversation the other night with the lab, but he wasn’t going to tell me. Which meant I was back to square one, with no real motive or murder weapon.

  “I’m going to head home, honey.”

  I looked up from my screen. I hadn’t even heard Mindy come up beside me. At this rate, I’ll be getting myself killed for sure.

  “Ok. I’m heading out soon, too. I just want to research a little more.”

  Mindy leaned over and gave me a one-arm hug. “Just remember what I said…please be careful tonight. And remember, Iris is a gossiping windbag. It doesn’t mean she will always know fact from fiction.”

  I knew where Mindy was going with this. After all these years, Mindy still couldn’t forgive Iris for spreading horrible gossip about her when she first arrived in town with Hank. “I promise to remember who and what she really is,” I said. “Now, go home and fix dinner for that cranky old man you call a husband.”

  Laughing, Mindy glided out the door on her four-inch spiked stiletto heels.

  Chapter 6

  What does one wear to interrogate a suspect?

  I decided on black jeans, a black loose-fitting turtleneck, and my black boots. I was going for intimidating yet approachable. I knew I’d be lucky if Iris gave me anything useful. Still, a girl can hope.

  After making a quick sandwich, I picked Paige up at six-forty and we drove over to Oak Grove Manor to pick up Aunt Shirley. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when she opened the door, but I can definitely say it wasn’t a long-sleeved black jumpsuit with Army boots and a camouflage bandana wrapped around her head.

  “What’s with the outfit?” I asked.

  “I figured you two sissies would go for cutesy, so one of us had better go for kickass.”

  We all piled into the Falcon and headed over to Legends. Once again I parked in the back lot by the dumpster, out of sight of other cars driving by. We were about ten minutes early, but I didn’t think Iris would mind.

  I escorted the girls up the back wooden stairs that led to Iris’s house above the salon. Raising my hand, I knocked twice on the weather-beaten aluminum door.

  Nothing.

  “Try again,” Aunt Shirley persisted.

  I knocked again and waited a few seconds. Maybe we were too early and she wasn’t home yet from running her errands. Peering inside the tiny-portioned glass in the door, I tried to see if I could glimpse any movement.

  The kitchen was directly in front of me. All I could make out was the layout of the kitchen and doorway leading into what I guessed was the living room.

  “Try the doorknob,” Aunt Shirley said.

  “Don’t you dare!" Paige exclaimed. "That’s illegal!”

  I silently debated what I should do. Do I just leave without answers, or do I turn the knob and see what happens?

  Ignoring Paige’s gasp, I grasped the knob and turned. To my surprise the door opened. “Iris,” I called out as we piled into her kitchen.

  Nothing.

  We were all three jammed into Iris’s tiny sunshine yellow kitchen, trying to peer through the open doorway that led into her living room. There were no lights on, but I swore I caught the faint glow of the TV from her living room.

  “I don’t think we should be in here,” Paige whispered. “Let’s just go and come back later.”

  “No way,” Aunt Shirley said as she pushed me out of her way and began walking through the doorway and into Iris’s living room.

  Praying Iris wouldn’t be pissed that we’d just barged in, I hurried after Aunt Shirley. I could hear Paige trailing behind me and muttering under her breath.

  Two steps into the living room I hit the back of Aunt Shirley. “Why'd you stop?” I asked.

  “Look,” Aunt Shirley said as she pointed to the floor.

  Looking over her shoulder I let out a high-pitched girlie scream. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t expecting to see Iris’s body sprawled out on the carpet, her face covered in blood. Behind me I could hear Paige chanting, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”

  Aunt Shirley knelt down and tried to find a pulse. Why I don’t know, it was obvious she was dead.

  Trying not to gag, I watched as Aunt Shirley stared into Iris’s bloody mouth. “Looks like her tongue’s been cut out. I’d say the killer put her on her back like this so she’d be sure to choke on her own blood. Panic her as she was dying.”

  “You think she was still alive when her tongue was cut out?” I asked, shocked at the thought of something so brutal.

  “Yep. With all this blood, I’d say it was done while she was still alive. If it was done after she was dead, there wouldn’t be as much blood.”

  “I think I’m going to go wait outside,” Paige said.

  “Don’t touch anything!” Aunt Shirley sho
uted as Paige staggered her way through the kitchen and onto the deck.

  “Crap. You know I’m gonna have to call Garrett and tell him what we found. He’s going to flip shit when he finds out we went behind his back and came here.”

  “Suck it up, Buttercup.”

  Having no other choice, I took out my cell phone and pulled up Garrett’s number. Unfortunately for me, he actually answered this time. “Hey, Sin, kinda busy. What’s up?”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

  I could hear cursing on the other end. “First off, are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “You mean on a scale of one to dead body bad?” I don't know why I made it sound like a question.

  More cursing. “Didn’t I tell you to lay low today? What is it with you and attracting trouble?”

  Even though I’d prepared myself for his anger, actually hearing him growl at me set me off. So I did what I always do when I’m good and mad and totally worked up…I started to cry.

  “Don’t cry, Sin,” I heard Garrett sigh. “Where are you, I’m coming.”

  Between my ragged breath, hiccuping, and soft sobs, I told Garrett where I was. Hanging up the phone, I looked over at Aunt Shirley and Iris’s dead body.

  “That’s what you went with? Crying?”

  “Shut up, Aunt Shirley,” I said, trying to calm my nerves. I could hear the wailing of sirens in the background.

  A few minutes later, Garrett came barging into the living room. I have to admit, my heart gave a little leap when I saw him, even though I was still pissed he thought I somehow did something to provoke this. I watched in silence as he started examining the body.

  I glanced over as Officer Chunsey and Officer Ryan walked into the living room. Officer Mike Ryan had recently left the Army and had only been with the Granville Police Department six months. He was a little over six foot tall, bald, and had muscles bulging everywhere. With his dark complexion and massive muscles, he always reminded me of Dwayne Johnson. The very intimidating Dwayne Johnson, not the laid-back-wide-grin Dwayne Johnson.