“If you do need me to go through my security footage, let me know. All of the video is stored in a cloud online.”
He nodded. “If I need that footage, I’ll let you know. Thanks for your corporation.” He pushed the notebook toward Trace, and Trace wrote down his information and Gwen’s. The fact that he had her information memorized made me wonder just how close he and Gwen were.
I squashed down the strange jealousy that popped up. I stood and grabbed my coffee. “Thanks for the coffee, Officer Brigs. Please give me a call when I can go back to my shop.”
He nodded, and I walked out. I expected Trace to follow me, but Officer Brigs called him to stay behind for a moment. I let them talk and started back to Trace’s office. I tried not to look into my shop because I didn’t want to know what the inside looked like right now. I sighed and walked into Trace’s office, finding it unlocked didn’t seem too odd to me. He probably didn’t think about locking it when he went off to find out what was going on.
Nooccar was sitting on the desk. His little nose twitching as he stared at me with his black eyes.
“Hey buddy, we have to share the desk for a bit.”
He picked up the paper he was shredding and jumped off, going to the little bed that Trace had made him.
I sat at the desk and realized that I didn’t have a computer to do any kind of work on. Frowning, I started to look through the drawers of the desk. I found a map in one of the drawers and pulled it out. It was better than nothing.
An hour later, I had the map marked with places that Trace had checked on about the dogs. I also had the flower shop marked and a note for where she’d seen the cart with dog food in it. My coffee from the shop was gone, Nooccar was sleeping in his bed, and Trace still wasn’t back.
I also hadn’t heard from the cops about my shop. Of course, they were probably still trying to figure out what had happened.
I looked at Nooccar as he snored lightly. There wasn’t much else I could do except go canvas the area again. I was getting ready to fold up the map when Trace walked in with another cup of coffee. He sat it on the desk.
“Sorry that took so long. Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked and looked over the map. “I see you’ve been busy.”
“I’m safe, but I fear what condition my store might be in when the cops are done in it.” I shrugged. “But I’m faring better than the lady they found in the shop, so that’s a plus.”
He snorted. “Dark humor doesn’t suit you.”
“Sorry, I’ll try to cheer up. It’s just been a strange day. What did officer Brigs have to say?”
He shook his head. “He wanted to know why I knew so much about Gwen off the top of my head.”
“Like her phone number?”
“I see you caught on to it as well.” He nodded. “Gwen and I were friends once upon a time before she started taking super shady jobs. We grew apart after that because we both had our own ideas on what jobs a PI should take on. So I talked to Officer Brigs and told him of a few situations that I knew about. Hopefully, this isn’t related to her search for the woman, but I wouldn’t put it past her.”
I didn’t really like the idea that it would be, but that had been my first thought when I saw the little boy. I didn’t know enough about the situation to even guess why the woman ended up dead in my shop.
“We have the woman’s name, right? It was Something Rose?”
“Do not get involved. Let the police handle this one, Lacey. This isn’t one of my cases where we’re dealing with magic. This is a murder case. Out of our job scope.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back. “But if she’s involved, she’d know how to trick the police, wouldn’t she?”
“Lacey,” Trace warned me.
“Fine, fine. I’m going to go walk around some areas to see if I can locate the dogs,” I muttered.
“Not alone, you’re not, and I’ve already been through the neighborhood. The dogs aren’t there, and the neighbors don’t know what happened to them.”
“Okay, then what am I supposed to do while they have my shop tied up in an investigation?” I tried not to growl at him. “I can’t work, I can’t help you, like hell I’m going back to my parents’ house for my mom to lecture me on this.”
Nooccar ran up to me and climbed up my legs and on to my shoulder. I sighed. “This just isn’t how I imagined my day going.”
“I don’t think anyone imagines their day starting with a dead body in their shop.” Trace laughed. “Go home, try to see if you can get some research on the dogs and the homeless man done there.”
I sat in the chair. “I’d rather work here, close to the shop.”
“Okay, then go pick your computer up and come back here to work.” He shrugged. “It’s not like you live that far away.”
That was true. I had enough time to go home. I put Nooccar down and stood. “Okay, I’ll be back with my laptop.”
Trace nodded. “I won’t be leaving today, so I’ll be right here when you get back. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and they’ll release the crime scene soon, and you can work on your shop.”
“Maybe.” I stepped out of Trace’s office to find that the number of cops had grown, and there were now spectators around the crime scene trying to get a look. I also spotted a news van not far away.
I sighed. It would just be a matter of time before my mom or dad called. A lecture was probably going to follow about how I should close the store. I shook my head and took the long way around to the parking lot. I stopped at the corner where I’d seen the figure the last couple nights. I wondered, did he have something to do with this?
I glanced around, looking for any sign of him being there, but I saw nothing. No footprints in the leftover snow and ice that hadn’t melted. No footprints in the mud.
With a sigh, I took a step forward and someone grabbed my wrist, yanking me against their body. My heart pounded, and I opened my mouth to let out a scream, but a hand covered it to keep me silent.
CHAPTER FOUR
Adrenaline pumped through me as the hand tightened against my face. I slammed my heel into the person’s foot. They cried out and let go of me. I took off in a dead run, but my assailant recovered quickly and grabbed my wrist again. This time I didn’t give him a chance to pull me tight against him. I pulled back my other arm and struck out with a punch to his face.
He yelled and put a hand to his face. “I think you broke my nose.”
I didn’t know the man, and he’d attacked me first, so I was having a hard time feeling sorry for him. There was a little bit of blood trickling from where his hand was covering his nose. “Who are you?”
“My name is Moses, and I need to talk to you.”
“There are other ways to get my attention, Moses.” I crossed my arms. “Ways that would be less painful for you.” I jerked my head to the building. “Come on, we’ll go talk in the office.”
He glanced at the direction of the building. “There are cops over there.”
“Yes, but I’m not about to talk to you in the parking lot like we’re doing some type of drug deal.”
He hesitated. “Okay fine.”
“Good.” I lead him back to the office. The officers around paid us no mind while we walked in Trace’s door. I’m sure they had other things to worry about than Moses and me right now.
Trace looked up from playing with Nooccar. “I didn’t think you’d be back this soon. And with a friend.”
“Will you get Moses a tissue or two?”
Trace nodded. “Moses, huh?”
“He scared the daylights out of me, and I punched him.” I shrugged. “Said he needed to talk to me, but had a very funny way of getting my attention.”
“Didn’t your mama tell you to never sneak up on a girl?” Trace asked as he handed Moses some Kleenex.
Moses glanced at me. “I didn’t want to talk with anyone else around.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but my office is a bit tied up right now.” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of
my voice. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
He looked at Trace, who simply crossed his arms. “Look, someone’s been sniffing around this area. I know you own the shop next door.”
“Clearly, your warning comes a little bit too late.” Trace shook his head. “Why warn us now.”
“Because, look, I sleep in a truck parked in the next lot over. I watch this shopping center. The guy checks all the doors on the building. Then he moves on. He’s done it for the last week. He waits until the last people go home and repeats the process. But he wasn’t here last night. Someone else was.”
Which meant, assuming I could trust Moses, that the person lurking around didn’t murder the lady next door. But there was someone else lurking too. “Who’s the man that’s been checking the doors?”
“We call him Slate. He’s really just looking for a warm place to stay. A place to squat for the night. He doesn’t mean any harm. He wanted me to tell you that it wasn’t him that murdered the woman.”
Slate. Moses. Duo. I felt like there was some weird naming convention that I missed. “Do you know his real name?”
“Look, lady, no one out here asks for your real name. We all just assume that we have reasons for having aliases out here. My message was delivered. Now, I’m going to go see a man about my broken nose.”
He turned and left. I looked at Trace, who shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“I know, and that’s exactly why I’m going to go out there and find Officer Brigs and tell him about both men.” I shrugged. “I guess I’m not going home to get my laptop right now.”
Trace’s office door opened, and I turned to see my dad walk in. “You want to explain what’s going on at the shop?”
I shook my head. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. There’s a lot of cop activity over there. I promise I didn’t do anything.”
“I didn’t think you did. Your magic was never on the harmful side.” He hugged me. “I’m just glad you’re alright. I was worried when I saw all the officers.”
I shrugged. “I’m worried about the shop. They haven’t let me in yet, so I don’t know what it looks like.”
“And right during holiday time. Hopefully, it doesn’t keep the shop closed for too long.”
“I’m not sure what the standard is for downtime when they find a body in a shop.” I turned to Trace. “Do you?”
He shrugged. “It depends on when they’re done processing the evidence and how much of it there is.”
I sighed. “Okay, so we’re going to count on at least a day because we know the window is busted, the security system is torn out, and they found the body inside.”
My dad looked at me. “Inside?”
“Yes, inside.”
Something crossed his face, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was guilt. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. They’ll get the evidence, and we’ll get cleaned up and back to business tomorrow.”
“And if you don’t get back to business tomorrow?” He glanced at Trace and then me. “Can you afford to close the shop for a day or two.”
“I can. It would suck because that’s two full days of revenue gone, but I’m not hurting for overhead money. Besides, I’m on a job with Trace, and that comes with a paycheck.”
Relief swept through my dad, and he pulled me into a hug. “Good, let’s try not to let your mother hear about this.”
My phone rang, and the ring tone was my mom’s. I shook my head. “I think it’s probably too late.”
My dad motioned to it. “Go ahead and answer it.”
“Hi mom, don’t worry, I’ll send your plate back with dad.” I didn’t bother with hello, and I tried to keep my voice light. “I’m sorry I got offended by your words this morning.”
“Clearly, I just needed to approach it differently. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine, you know, just chilling in the downtime.”
Dad rolled his eyes, and Trace snickered as he picked up Nooccar.
My mother let out a frustrated sigh. “You are not working in your shop. I saw the news, young lady, now answer my question.” She’d gone from friendly conversation to mom voice real quick.
That was the voice I was scared of. “Okay, okay. I’m fine. It happened last night, so I wasn’t there. Neither was Copperfield. I’m just waiting for the police to finish up so I can open the shop.”
“No one is going to come there since someone was murdered in it.” She scoffed.
I sighed. “Mom, I know you hate the shop, but can you just please pretend to be supportive right now?”
There was silence on the other end. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been very fair to you. I hope the store is alright.”
“Thank you. Look, I have to go. I’m helping Trace with a job, and I want to go do some research.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“Love you too.” I disconnected the call and looked at dad. “Too harsh?”
He shook his head. “She needed to hear it. You’ve put your heart and soul into that shop.”
“On the bright side, maybe this means I’m not going to get invited over for cake again tonight.”
My dad snorted. “I wouldn’t bet on it. I can only eat so much of those cakes. Someone has to help me.”
Trace held his hands up. “Nope, on a case. That means no cake for me.”
“I’m on a job too.” I stepped next to Trace. “Dogs to find, all that jazz.”
My dad rolled his eyes. “Okay, let’s get the plate from the car, and then I’ll head back home. I’ll try to smooth things over with your mother.”
“Thanks.”
Dad and I stepped out of the shop to find that some of the cops had disappeared. The body was now gone, and Office Brigs was standing by my door, looking at it.
“Something interesting?” I asked before I could help myself.
He shook his head. “Just looking for evidence.”
“Of course, sorry to interrupt.” I turned away and started to walk with my dad.
Dad looked over his shoulder and then at me. “I bet there’s forced entry on your door.”
“I’ll have to look when I get back, but we should let the police handle this.” I shook my head. “This isn’t a husband or wife cheating, it’s not missing dogs or a missing person. This is murder.”
He nodded. “You’re right, and you should stay away from it.”
But my dad was like me, he was curious as to what the cops were finding, and I’m sure he wanted to know why the woman was in my shop.
Dad went on his way with the plate that I stole from breakfast, and I walked back to the office to find Officer Brigs standing outside Trace’s door.
“I’d like to talk to you a little bit more, if that’s alright, Ms. Willows.”
I nodded. “Sure, I have nothing to hide.”
“Take a walk with me through your shop, if you would.”
My head spun at the idea of walking through the crime scene with him. I didn’t want to screw anything up. What if I touched evidence? What if he thought I was a suspect? Of course, I might have been since it was my shop the lady was found in. “Okay,” was finally what I managed to say.
We went to the front door, and I pulled my key out of my pocket to unlock it. I guess we could have stepped through the broken front window, but something about that felt utterly wrong. I didn’t see any marks on the door as I unlocked it and walked in. There was my biggest fear.
The entire store was a wreck. I hadn’t seen it from the sidewalk because of all the people in the way, but now it was clear. Every item, broken, every shelf turned over, and the office door was busted down. My mind swirled at the scene. There was nothing that wasn’t broken, even Copperfield’s cage had been torn apart.
My heart pounded as I started to walk through the ruins. It would take days to clean this up, weeks to replace the product. There might be no recovering from this.
“Ms. Willows?” Officer Brigs asked.
&n
bsp; I turned to him. “Yes?”
“Is there anything missing?”
I honestly wasn’t sure. Everything was a mess. I went to the office and found the safe untouched. Part of me was relieved, but the other part of me couldn’t help but wonder what the person was thinking when they ransacked my shop.
I went back to the shop and looked around. It didn’t seem like anything was missing, but it was hard to tell from just looking it over. “I don’t know. I’d have to go through it all to find out.” Even I could hear the shake in my voice. “Not that it matters, everything is ruined. It’ll have to be replaced regardless.”
Officer Brigs nodded. “Please get us an inventory report.”
“I have an updated one. I’ll e-mail it to you.” My voice went from shaking to dead. I had to step away from the situation, or I was going to lose it.
“Thank you for having a look.”
I nodded. “Where was the body found?”
“Just on the other side of the window.” He motioned to where some of the items had been cleared away.
I looked at the bloodstains on the floor. “Do we know anything about her?”
“Not that I can share, not right now. You let Trace take care of you. I’ll let you know when you can start fixing the shop up.”
I didn’t respond as I walked out of the shop and back to Trace’s office. I didn’t say anything to Trace as I sat at the desk and put my head on it.
“That bad?” he asked as he pulled up a chair to sit with me.
“Yes,” I muttered. “That bad.” I didn’t want to look at him. I didn’t want to face anything right now except the wood top of the desk. “I don’t know if I’m going to recover from this. Even with insurance.”
He put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll get it figured out.”
I just made a noise that I thought at least sounded like I agreed with him. Of course, I don’t think he bought it, but he was smart and didn’t say anything else.
After a few minutes, I lifted my head up and sighed. “I don’t know when I’ll be allowed back into the shop, but all the inventory is destroyed. There’s blood on the floor where the body was, but luckily the safe was just fine.” I took a deep breath. “I’m going to go to the home improvement store, find a piece of wood big enough for the window, and then screw it in place until I can order a new one.”
Walking Through Walls Page 4