I made my way to the window, pulled myself up to my knees, and looked out. Rose Avenue does not have streetlights, but I could see from people’s porch lights that much of the crowd had dispersed. This time of night was taken up by teenagers barely in costume, pimply boys with arms draped around pimply girls. Was free candy that much of an attraction for date night?
Wait. Porch lights. My neighbors have power!
I looked left and right on my side of the block to see if their lights were on. They were and that’s when I saw him. I couldn’t make out his face but it is hard to miss those chrome rims. He got into his truck and drove away.
I dropped the drape and crawled over to my phone and called Sally.
* * *
“Hold that on your head and let me look into your eyes,” said Sally. She shone a light into my eyes and looked concerned.
“Should we take her to emergency?” asked Peggy, icing my shin with a bag of frozen peas.
“On Halloween? Every emergency room will be a zoo, she’ll get better care here,” said Sally decidedly. “Joe is coming over to see about getting your power back on,” she said to me. “He’s going to wake Carl and bring him along, for moral support he claims. Truth is, he really doesn’t know the first thing about electricity. But he means well.” She smiled.
That’s when I remembered. “I need to borrow your flashlight, something happened in my pool,” I said, staggering up off the sofa.
Once standing, I was hit with a tsunami of dizziness and would have fallen over if Peggy hadn’t caught me.
“You aren’t going anywhere, missy,” ordered Sally. “You’ve got a concussion, you need to be still. If not, you’re going to end up with a serious case of CRS.”
She saw the fear in my eyes.
“Can’t Remember Shit.” Sally smiled at me.
“But I heard an animal cry and splashing, we need to make sure it got out,” I pleaded.
“We can wait until Joe and Carl get the power up,” said Peggy.
Sally found enough candles to make my house feel cozy again, even though I felt violated and was sure that I would never be able to erase the mental image of that slimy drug dealer.
* * *
“Well, it was easy enough to fix,” said Joe after the lights came back on. He and Carl had announced themselves from outside and gone directly through the back gate. I noticed that Joe had taken the time to change into his trademark professorial garb. Carl was barefoot and only wearing shorts, making them quite a pair. It wouldn’t surprise me if he and Cassie slept naked, although that wouldn’t stop her from having a wardrobe full of sleeping ensembles.
“Someone or something flipped all the circuit breakers,” Carl announced. “You okay, toots, you don’t look so good.”
“It was a someone,” I said, “and I know who.”
At my insistence Sally and Joe helped me out to the pool. It was still too dark to see much, so I hobbled over to the pool light switch. “It’s quiet now, maybe it was some kind of prank, this is Halloween,” I said, turning on the light.
We stared silently as we registered the grotesque scene before us.
The water was streaked in crimson red. Whatever had turned the pool this color left a track all the way to the back fence. This must have been the animal I heard unleash such a plaintive wail.
“What the heck.” Carl sucked in a breath as he surveyed the scene.
I felt the ground go soft, my knees gave way and I went down.
When I came to I was in my bed and it took several blinks for my eyes to focus. I could make out sunlight breaking through my window and then heard a thumping sound either coming from inside my head or from my bed.
Do I need an exorcism now?
The thumping got louder and faster and I smelled a familiar breath. Slowly and painfully I turned my head sideways and was about two inches away from Bardot wagging her tail and looking hopeful that it was time to play. I heard fingers snap and Bardot put her head down quietly. I turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Again I blinked and the people standing or sitting on my bed slowly came into view. I saw Jack and assumed that he was the one controlling Bardot. There was Sally, Cassie, Peggy, and Aimee all staring at me with concern. I blinked again to make sure that they were real, and when I saw that Cassie was wearing a leopard print jumpsuit with a black patent leather belt, I knew that I wasn’t dreaming. I could not make that shit up.
“ ‘Toto, we’re home! And this is my room—and you’re all here,’ ” I said, not knowing how the hell I pulled that out of my brain.
“How’s your head?” Sally asked, shining a penlight into my eyes. “Your pupils look much better.”
“What happened; what are you all doing here?” I asked in a scratchy voice.
“Oh God, she’s lost her memory,” Cassie said and then looked at Jack. “Good news for you, you’ve got a clean slate.”
“I do not have amnesia. I remember the power going out, hitting my shin, Sally and Peggy coming over, and—oh God.”
“We’ve got that all cleaned up, honey, your pool is back to normal and Augie alerted Animal Control to be on the lookout,” Aimee gently explained.
“Augie was here?”
“It’s probably nothing, he took a water sample to test, but he thinks that this is just very realistic-looking fake blood. Maybe you should just rest, you look awfully tired, honey,” said Peggy.
“You fainted when we turned the lights on in the pool,” Sally said. “We got you into bed and I gave you something to sleep. Seeing that carnage would be a shock to anyone let alone someone with a concussion.”
“I came back with Bardot just before midnight,” Jack softly said, kneeling by the edge of my bed and holding my hand. “Don’t worry, babe, I am going to take care of you.”
“Awwwww,” cooed Cassie.
“What did Augie say?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, he found nothing concrete to follow up on. Figured that this was the work of some sadistic kids. We told him that you said you saw Ray but there’s no proof and on Halloween he said anyone could have done this,” Aimee explained.
“Anyone didn’t do it, that shit Ray did it,” I croaked.
“I’ll call Augie and update him on our work in the Marina; I told you that we’re pretty sure we were tracking Ray the other night. This might be his way of doing payback,” Jack said, stroking my hair.
“Payback’s a female dog,” Sally said.
Add my name to the list this was another warning to stop our sleuthing, I thought. Three down, two to go. So who’s next, Sally or Cassie?
* * *
True to his word Jack stayed by my side for the next two days. He fed me, comforted me, and bathed me. It was totally innocent, and the warm bubble bath and salts he put in the water took the sting away from the pain in my shin. Bardot helped wherever she could, which mostly consisted of following me everywhere I hobbled and trying to retrieve my toes from under the bubbles in the bath. On the third day, Jack had to get back to work.
“You sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked, getting up from the breakfast table.
I had made a lovely frittata for us with smoked ham, Gruyère, and caramelized onions. It was the first thing that I had cooked for Jack, and I wanted him to know that I was also the goddess of gastronomy. I was starting to feel very comfortable sharing my home with him, and not just because I was injured. And, I was stupidly fighting it.
“I want you to check in with me every couple of hours,” he said, grabbing his keys and phone.
Where have I heard that before?
“I checked that the gate is locked, and early this morning, I installed a camera above it that will let me see what’s going on remotely,” he added proudly.
“I’m not helpless, Jack. I need to get back to my life. I can take care of myself, always have, and always will.”
I was steaming at his presumption and couldn’t control myself. I could see the sting my words had and regrett
ed that I hadn’t applied a filter. I quickly tried to backpedal.
“Look, everyone is on high alert here, the detectives, the people who come to work on this street every day, and the neighbors; if I change my life, then they’ve won, Jack,” I said, standing up and wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Just don’t get too complacent,” he said, pulling away. “I recognize that you don’t need anyone, you’ve made that perfectly clear. But you see that the person who killed Rosa cares nothing about a life, human or animal. There is something bigger at stake, and if you get between this guy and his business, then you could be the next one found floating facedown in the pool.”
He half-heartedly kissed me, gave a warm pet to Bardot, and headed out the door.
Ouch.
When I heard his truck start up, I went out back to fetch the ladder and take that damn camera down. Yes, I was scared, and yes, I felt like my whole life had been violated, but I needed to feel in control of something.
Chapter 22
Things had finally calmed down, and I was out with Bardot who, after her night training sessions with Jack, now walked crouched low to the ground with her head moving side to side to pick up scents. My heart sank as I saw a notice for a missing cat stapled to the utility pole on the corner. Even though Augie confirmed that the blood in my pool was fake, my stomach still turned to acid just remembering that horrible night.
Bardot’s “hunt” walk was better than her pulling but I still tightened my grip on the leash, not sure what she would do if she smelled the right smell. Whatever that was. I never did hear what had happened at the Marina that second night, and the way things were left with Jack, I may never know.
On the return, we hit the other side of the street to give Bardot some fresh pee markings to sniff. Halfway up the block, I saw Peggy planting some impatiens around a tree in the yard.
“Well, there’s my favorite dog,” she said.
At that, Bardot abandoned the scent and darted toward Peggy, pulling me along for the ride.
As they began their lovefest, I cast a glance up to Rosa’s house. The sight made me shiver.
“What’s the matter, honey? Come on, let’s sit on the front steps.”
“Just looking at her house brings back such horrible thoughts. I feel that I owe Rosa and should be the one to find her killer.”
It was quiet on Rose Avenue, the few cars that passed were minivans shuttling toddlers to playdates or on errands with their moms. I never thought that I would cheer for it, but the skies were displaying real clouds today, more than just the marine layer, which burns off around noon. The change made me think of home and I suddenly had a mental image of eating grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with my mom while watching the soaps.
Peggy patted my knee with one hand and scratched Bardot’s ears with the other.
“You’re experiencing classic survivor’s guilt; we’re going to get him, sweetheart, don’t you worry.”
“I hope so, this is not how I pictured my new life to be,” I said.
“You’re still glad to be here, aren’t you? Didn’t sound like you left anything of value back in New York City.”
“Believe me I didn’t. Just wasted time and a misspent youth.”
“This isn’t like you, Halsey, what happened to that wise-cracking, taking names, screw them all, beautiful woman who moved to Rose Avenue?”
I laughed and gave her a hug.
“That’s better,” she said. “And you sure caught that fellow Jack’s eye.”
I just looked around and said nothing.
“What? You don’t think he’s cute? If I were even ten years younger . . .”
“He’s cute alright. I just don’t know why guys always feel that they have to protect me. Sure, it starts as caring, but the next thing you know, you’re not allowed to cut your hair, they tell you what to wear, and constantly track your whereabouts. No thank you. Bardot and the Rose Avenue Wine Club are enough for me,” I said, working up into a full lather.
“Halsey, you must have figured out by now that the best way to get a man to stop doing something is to tell him how good he is at it. When the challenge is gone they move on to the next thing. And it really doesn’t matter what it is. Why sometimes they take it to extremes. Don’t you know what the last words of a male idiot are?”
I shook my head.
“Hey, watch this!”
I laughed, but what she said kind of made my eyes sting. Behind them, my brain was working overtime, trying to decide which mental drawer to file this in.
“Thanks, Peggy,” I managed to get out. “You are very wise about all of this, I don’t mean just understanding men; you seem to know a lot about how to work this case. It’s almost like you’ve been through something like this before.”
Sure, I’m baiting her, so sue me.
“You are very astute, Halsey, although it feels like it was another lifetime ago.”
I waited for her to continue.
“There’s only so much I can tell you, it all took place in the early ’60s. You know Vern served in the Air Force, correct?”
I nodded and Bardot settled in between us. She’s a sucker for a good story.
“Well, he was asked to work on a mission that involved Homeland Security and the threat was supposed to be headquartered in the Santa Monica airport. Basically he was assigned to flush out the bad guys.”
“Enter Peggy,” I prodded.
“Yes, the airport had started allowing business jets to land and take off from there now that WWII and the Korean War were over. The Air Force had called in the CIA, who called me when they discovered a shipment of Russian weapons hidden aboard an aircraft they were servicing.”
“You worked for the CIA? You are my hero!”
She chuckled.
“It was for less than a year, and it was only surveillance. They gave me a special compact mirror and some other gadgets. I was never told if I’d helped or not, but I sure learned a lot.”
“Wow. And you’ll help me with Rosa’s case?”
She gave me a hug and nodded with a wink.
Bardot gave her a kiss and we went our way.
When I got in the house I called my mom. It was a Mom kind of day.
* * *
I padded into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea and a late breakfast. I like a healthy meal of scrambled eggs, paper-thin slices of ham lightly grilled, and some sort of fruit with a splash of lemon and agave nectar.
I’m not bragging, this is a recent development. In New York it was bacon, a fried egg, and cheese on a buttered bagel bought at the deli by the subway entrance. There was a line every morning, the people behind the counter worked at the pace of a veteran dealer in Vegas, and if you weren’t ready to shout an order out the second it was your turn, the crowd behind would swallow you up like quicksand. And you’d better call it a “BE&C” because nobody has time for all those words. I tried to picture Cassie placing a morning deli order, and figured that it would go something like this:
“Hieee, I’m Cassie. This bacon egg thingy, are those fresh eggs, like from a farm, fresh? And I’d like a whole-wheat bagel, and could you scrape out the dough inside the crust and add a sprinkling of chia seeds instead of butter? And what kind of soy bacon do you have?”
At that point I picture the line picking her up and passing her back out the door like she was crowd surfing at a rock concert.
No, I don’t miss any of that. The rushed atmosphere took all the joy out of eating. And I enjoy eating. Growing up, the family dinner was sacrosanct. It started with the preparation; both my parents are great cooks and have their specialties. I started learning and participating almost as soon as I could stand.
I took my tea and plate into the breakfast nook that looks out onto Rose Avenue. This was a nice change; normally at this time of day I am in the office in the back and feeling a bit isolated. I let a bite of creamy egg melt in my mouth and glanced out the window.
Is that Inez? What
the heck is she doing?
She was standing in the street at my curb with a broom in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. She was doing a lot more looking around than sweeping, but I realized that she was cleaning up the dirt and scraping off the debris on the street in front of my house.
I threw on an oversized shirt, poured Inez some orange juice, grabbed my tea, and went out to her.
“Are you cleaning up my filthy curbside? Thank you,” I said, handing her the glass.
She was definitely surprised to see me.
“It’s no problem, I was here anyway for the recyclables,” she said, waving her knife and sipping her juice.
My regular garbage bin was open, I guess that was where she was depositing her sweepings. I looked down at the latest pile, it was an odd collection of debris. Lots of little shards of glass along with some mailing envelopes that I could see had my address on them.
“Isn’t it a little early in the day for the bottles,” I asked, taking a seat on the curb and patting the spot next to me. “Most people haven’t put their cans out yet.”
She sat with a sigh.
“Thanks for the juice, it’s delicious. I’ll be back for another round later tonight, but I really need the money so I thought I’d get what I could now.”
That grabbed my stomach, I’d been poor when I first started out, but never that desperate.
“You have kids?” I really was concerned.
“Two, they are with my mother during the day, but she hasn’t been feeling well lately. They think it might be cancer.”
“Oh no. Where’s the father, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Split a long time ago, left me to raise them.”
“Hang on a minute, I’ll be right back.”
I put down my tea and went into the house. This must be what Marisol was doing that night I saw her hand over bags to Inez.
I returned with some cash and a few T-shirts and sweaters. She was back to sweeping and the curb was now clear.
“Here, take these and here’s some money for food. I will go through my clothes and get you a proper donation. How old are your kids?”
Full Bodied Murder Page 12