Safety in Blunders (The Worst Detective Ever Book 3)

by Christy Barritt

  He grinned. “How’d you guess?”

  “You strike me as the type.”

  “I’ll assume that’s a compliment.”

  Before I could make a witty response that I hadn’t come up with yet, the sound of someone running hit my ears. Someone else was in these woods with us. And they didn’t want to be seen.

  Jackson took off after them, leaving me . . . in the dark.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I fumbled until I found my phone. Then I fumbled until I found the flashlight feature. And then I fumbled even more as I tried to turn it on. My hands shook too badly. Which was a bummer because I hated the dark and needed to remedy the situation immediately.

  Finally, light sliced through the blackness. Yet it wasn’t enough. The beam only illuminated a few feet in front of me. I needed more.

  Noise in the distance overshadowed my brief line of sight. Jackson shouted. More footsteps pounded. Underbrush snapped and rustled. What was going on?

  I paced toward the woods and stopped. I couldn’t go off the trail. I’d get lost.

  Yet remaining in one place seemed so useless . . . and scary. I gripped my phone more tightly.

  Something cracked behind me.

  I gasped and twirled around.

  My flashlight showed nothing but trees swallowed by gaping black holes.

  The Goat Man. He was all I could think of. Stupid Goat Man.

  My lungs tightened. I hated this. I should have never agreed to come tonight.

  Another twig cracked.

  Someone was out there, weren’t they? Watching. Waiting.

  Who was it? A killer? My stalkers? The person who’d shot at Jackson and me earlier?

  I hated this. Had I mentioned that?

  The cracks continued, getting closer and closer.

  I backed up toward the woods. Away from the sound. From the nighttime intruder.

  Or had I intruded into someone else’s territory? The thought wasn’t comforting.

  I took another step, and my ankle hit something. It twisted, and I toppled toward the ground, into the prickly underbrush. Pain raced through my hip, and fear seized me.

  I somehow managed to hold on to my phone. With trembling hands, I shone it in the distance.

  No one still.

  But as my light brushed the ground, it illuminated . . . something.

  I squinted. Was that another hole? I sat up and looked closer. Yes, it was.

  Why was there another hole out here?

  Stupid holes.

  “Joey?”

  My heart slowed a moment at the familiar voice. “Jackson?”

  He stepped into the light, his eyes creasing with concern. “Are you okay?”

  I rubbed my arm, feeling silly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little freaked out.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. I shook off any imaginary grass and leaves and tried to ignore what was sure to be a big bruise on my hip.

  “I guess you didn’t catch whoever was out there?” I asked.

  “No, he got away. Probably just a teen who was up to no good. Maybe I scared him off, at least.”

  “Good to know.”

  He took my arm and led me back in the direction we’d come from. “Come on. I need to get you back. I think we’ve had enough adventure today.”

  The next day was Sunday. I went to church and sat with Jackson. I’d hoped to have lunch together afterward, but as soon as service was over, Jackson’s blind date rushed over and flirted like a woman with no shame.

  I almost spared Jackson his misery by feigning already having plans together. But then Elrod texted me. I’d given him my number when he came into Beach Combers. He asked if we could meet right now, and of course I said yes. We arranged to rendezvous at Sunrise Coffee Co. in fifteen.

  When I walked inside, I realized my nerves were still shot after being used for target practice yesterday. Despite that, I ordered a soy latte with caramel and an extra pump of chocolate before sitting at a corner table with a great view of the front door. As I waited, I listened to the strands of “Free Fallin’” playing overhead.

  The door opened, and Elrod stepped inside. He bypassed ordering anything and marched toward me. At first glance, he seemed a little less defeated and more agitated than the last time I’d seen him.

  He tapped his foot nervously as he sat across from me.

  I set my drink down. “Elrod, what’s going on?”

  He leaned toward me, his hands gripping the table, a halfway crazy look in his eyes. “She tried to call me, Joey.”

  “Who?”

  “Cora.”

  I straightened, certain I hadn’t heard him correctly. “What? What do you mean? When?”

  He gripped the table even tighter. “She tried to call a couple hours ago, but we got cut off.”

  My thoughts raced. She was alive. That was the good news. “What did she say?”

  “She said, ‘Elrod, I need you.’” His voice cracked. “Then I heard someone shout, and the line went dead.”

  Adrenaline surged through me. Good news with bad news. At least he’d heard from her. “Elrod, did you tell the police? They need to know this. Maybe they can trace the call.”

  He swung his head back and forth, leaving no room to doubt his choice. “The police think I’m a suspect.”

  I rested my hand on the table, hoping to reassure him. “I know what that’s like. But you have to push past those fears. This could be important. Every minute matters with these things.”

  He ran a hand over his head and released a long breath. “She wasn’t on the phone long enough. I tried to call the number back, and I got nothing. I’m pretty sure it was one of those burner phones.”

  “You need to let the police figure that out. Elrod, you’ve got to do it.”

  “Okay, okay. I can do that. But I can’t sleep, Joey. All I can think about is Cora and what she might be going through right now. I can’t stand it. She doesn’t deserve to suffer.”

  “She may not be suffering.” I hoped my words were true. Prayed they were.

  His bloodshot gaze met mine. “You didn’t hear her voice, Joey. She sounded terrified.”

  My concern ricocheted to the next level. I needed more information. Desperately. “Were there any context clues you picked up on? Any noises in the background that might let us know where she might be?”

  “No, no . . . I don’t think so. I don’t know. I was at work. I couldn’t hear very well.” He blinked and then blinked again, pressing his eyes shut like there was some kind of image he couldn’t get out of his mind.

  “It’s okay. You did the right thing by coming to me.” I rocked back and forth in my chair, my thoughts racing. “Elrod, is there any chance she ran away on her own?”

  “What? No. Why would you ask that?” His eyes were wide open now and staring at me in shock. “And why would she call me in a state of panic if she did?”

  I thought of Lexi again. She’d left for Hollywood on her own and made bad choice after bad choice. Ultimately that led to her death.

  “I’m just trying to explore every possibility. It wasn’t the photographer. He has an alibi.”

  “There’s got to be someone else!” He slammed his fist onto the table, and my coffee spilled over the edges of the hand-thrown mug.

  I glanced over as the barista, Shannon, stared at us, as did another patron. I offered them a reassuring smile. At least, I tried to. “What about some parties Cora started working? Do you know anything about that?”

  His face morphed into surprised outrage. “What? What are you talking about? What kind of parties?”

  I drew in a deep breath, unsure how he would take this news. There was a good chance he’d cause another scene. “There were some parties hosted by a restaurant owner in this area. He was looking for mermaid impersonators and other exotically themed actresses to attend these shindigs. I believe that Cora may have been paid to go to these gatherings.”

  “You don’t mean—” He stoppe
d, as if he couldn’t say the words.

  I raised my hand to halt his thoughts. “I don’t think anything like that went down. I think Cora was mostly eye candy for the partygoers.”

  His face reddened, and his hand fisted and unfisted. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “Maybe because she thought you would react like this.” My own pulse raced as I anticipated what he might do next. I prayed he wouldn’t turn violent.

  He lowered his voice to a hiss. “It’s not like that. I would never hurt her.”

  “I didn’t say you would. Was she desperate for money?” I tried to change the subject in an effort to get him to calm down.

  He let out a deep breath and ran a hand over his head again. “She wanted to make it big. But she couldn’t afford to go to New York or LA. She worked part time at the 99 Center. She could barely pay her bills. So yeah, she wanted money.”

  “Where did she get the money to pay the photographer?” That question had been bugging me. Andre’s services weren’t cheap, especially for someone making minimum wage. I wasn’t sure how much Billy had paid her, but I’d bet it wasn’t five hundred dollars.

  “I don’t know. I think she cashed out her savings. Maybe she sold something. She didn’t tell me. If I asked too many questions, she thought I was being controlling.”

  I didn’t doubt that. “She must have had a lot of hope that this photographer was going to do big things for her.”

  “She just wanted to be loved. She didn’t get it growing up, and I guess I wasn’t good enough for her.”

  Despite my hesitations about the man, compassion swelled in me. “I’m sorry, Elrod. I know this is difficult for you. A lot of actors have a deep-seated need for attention, for various reasons.”

  I paused, wondering about the truth of those words for my own life. Had I gone into acting to make up for an absent mother who’d chosen modeling over me? I couldn’t examine that now, but there was a good chance it was true. I had to shift gears and stay focused on Elrod now.

  I leaned closer. “Where did she say she was going last Thursday? Do you remember?”

  “Is that when the party was?”

  I nodded.

  “She said she was going to try and get some extra hours in at the 99 Center. I had no idea that meant she was going to that party.”

  “Did she act any different after that night?”

  He remained in silent thought a moment. “Actually, she did. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But she seemed happy. Hopeful. That’s when she decided to sign up with that photographer. She said she could feel big things on the horizon.”

  “So maybe there was a possibility that she did take off. Maybe she didn’t want anyone looking for her, so she staged the scene. I know you don’t want to consider it, but you should.”

  “She loved that mermaid tail. She wouldn’t run away without it. Besides, she loved me. She wouldn’t do this to me.” His shoulders drooped. “I know I look guilty. I’ll never find her if I’m behind bars.”

  “Come with me to the police station. The detective is a good man. I promise.”

  He frowned, and his shoulders slumped even more. “Okay. If you say so.”

  I walked outside with him and stopped in my tracks on the sidewalk. There was a white truck parked out front . . . just like the one the clerk at 7-Eleven had seen.

  Chapter Twenty

  I paused and backed up, realizing I could be associating with the bad guy. Without missing a beat, I reached into my purse, grabbed my phone, and hit Jackson’s number. Then I set the device aside, hoping Jackson would hear all of this.

  Elrod looked back at me, confusion washing over his face. “What?”

  I pointed to his truck, my thoughts crashing together. “You followed Cora the day she went missing.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve been lying to me, Elrod. And now you’re lying again as sure as we stand here in the parking lot of Sunrise Coffee Company.” I had to squeeze that in so Jackson would know our location.

  Elrod’s gangly oversized hands went to his hips as he turned toward me. “Are you losing it? I haven’t lied to you.”

  “The clerk at 7-Eleven saw that white truck at the convenience store where Cora stopped before her photo shoot. You confronted her in the parking lot and argued.” I shielded my eyes from the glare of the sun hitting the truck’s windshield.

  Elrod let out a long breath, agitation claiming his features. “Stop. Stop! I did follow her, okay?”

  “Why?” I took a step back, hoping he didn’t lash out. Confronting people was always iffy. Whenever Raven did it, she ended up in hand-to-hand combat, something I clearly wasn’t prepared for. “Why would you do that?”

  His face pinched, as if he was in pain. “I knew she was up to something. I thought she might be running.”

  I took another step back and hit the cedar-sided building. “And you wanted to stop her?”

  “Yes. No! I mean, it’s not like it sounds.”

  I swallowed hard and moved aside as a thirtysomething couple scooted past us and into the building. “What is it like then, Elrod?”

  Elrod paced back and forth. Two steps left. Two steps right. “I thought maybe she’d met someone else.”

  “Why would you think that?” Please, Jackson. Be listening. Be on your way!

  “Because of that spring in her step. I didn’t put it there. She’d supposedly been at work the night before. But I stopped by. She wasn’t there.”

  So he hadn’t been telling me the truth earlier. I didn’t like that. “Did you ask her about it?”

  Elrod’s gaze darkened. “She said she went to see a friend instead. That’s all she would tell me. I know her friends. She wasn’t with them.”

  “So you assumed she was cheating on you.”

  “It was a logical assumption. I needed to know.”

  He was definitely possessive. That didn’t usually lead to good things. “What were you going to do if Cora was cheating on you?”

  His eyes widened, as if he realized the implications of what he’d said. “I wasn’t going to hurt her, if that’s what you’re getting at. I needed to know. I needed to move on. No one strings along Elrod. No one!”

  Talking about oneself in third person was never a good sign . . . right, Joey? “So you talked to her outside of 7-Eleven and tried to get some of the answers she owed you.”

  “I did. I borrowed my friend’s truck.”

  “No wonder the police didn’t connect the dots.”

  “My own truck isn’t working right now. I’m trying to save money to have it fixed.”

  “Yet your girlfriend came gallivanting out here with all that money while you were working hard. That might cause some resentment.”

  “You’re trying to trap me.” His voice trembled as he stared at me, his eyes full of accusation. “I thought you were different.”

  “I’m not trying to trap you, Elrod. I’m trying to get the truth. You’re doing all kinds of dances around it.”

  He paced back to his truck and leaned against it. He looked both guilty and burdened as he squeezed the skin between his eyes. “I followed her. I just wanted to know if she was cheating. We’ve been dating a long time, and I’ve never seen her look like that. Or not tell me something. Why wouldn’t she tell me what was going on? Unless she’d met someone else.” He swung his head back and forth, sobering even more. “I’ve always known Cora was out of my league.”

  I glanced in my purse and saw my screen was still lit. I just needed to keep Elrod talking until the police got here. “What did she say when you confronted her?”

  “She said she was pursuing an opportunity that could be good for both of us. I asked her to tell me what, and she said she couldn’t.”

  “Did you ask why?”

  “Of course. She said it was dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” I hadn’t expected him to say that. “Why?”

  “She wouldn’t say. She just said she
had to do something, and as soon as she could, she’d tell me what it was. Until then she had to do things her way.”

  “What about the umbrella stand?”

  “What?” He looked at me, dumbfounded from his parted lips to his blank stare.

  “She bought an umbrella stand inside 7-Eleven. Why would she do that? How did that tie in with this dangerous opportunity she was pursuing?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe she was going to start selling umbrellas?”

  I shook my head. “No, that’s lame.”

  “You asked.”

  “Something happened at that party. Some opportunity. Find that out and maybe we’ll find Cora.” I was challenging myself, not Elrod.

  Just then Jackson pulled up. Jackson. Good. He could take over now.

  I sat on a bright-blue bench outside of Sunrise Coffee Co., trying to stay out of the way. Shannon—the barista—had been a saint and brought me another latte. I’d asked her to bring black coffee for Jackson as well.

  I watched—quietly, had I said that yet?—as another officer put Elrod in the back of a police cruiser. He would go in for questioning, and the police would get to the bottom of both Cora’s phone call and Elrod’s half-truths.

  As they pulled away, Jackson turned toward me, and I waited for his praise and commendation.

  I blinked up at him, my most winning smile on my face. “Aren’t you proud of me? I called you first.”

  His gaze remained humorless. Had I interrupted him from another date with Ms. Blonde and Perky? Because I thought he’d look happy.

  “How did you know Elrod?” he asked.

  “What do you mean, ‘how did you know Elrod’?” Had I given yet something else away? Probably. An uncomfortable feeling clenched my gut.

  “You were meeting with him.”

  “Okay . . .” He was getting at something, but I wasn’t sure what.

  “Rachel may have said his first name, but she didn’t offer enough information for this meeting to happen on its own.”

  I shrugged as reality hit me. I’d been caught. Again. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”