Flea Market Fatal

by Brianna Bates

  “Double bluff?”

  “Yes. He doesn’t think your Mom killed Switzer, but he doesn’t want the real killer to know that. Maybe he thinks the killer will slip up and make some kind of mistake if they’ve already arrested someone.”

  “Is that what a double bluff is?”

  Noreen stopped at a red light. “We need to find other suspects.”

  “How do we do that?”

  ***

  Because visiting hours were pretty narrow on Sunday and the police took a long time to "process" Mom, Missy didn't get a chance to speak to her again. Instead Noreen drove her and Cody home.

  They went inside and parked it on the couch, Cody nestling between them. Missy sat back and stretched out.

  "We have one lead," Missy said. "But I have no reason to talk to him..."

  "Cooper Merritt? That man's a hornball. Just wear your favorite pair of jeans. You look great in them."

  Missy wanted to complain about how they didn't fit anymore, but she hated complaining about her weight. "You want me to just show up at his door?"

  "Why not?" Noreen got up. "I could use a drink. Do you have anything in the house?"

  Missy pointed vaguely toward the kitchen. "Check the fridge, but fair warning it's probably old."

  Noreen got up. Cody changed position and rested her long snoot on Missy's lap.

  "What do you think I should do, Nor?"

  Cody rolled over and stuck her paws up in the air. Missy remembered she hadn't called the vet to set up an appointment. With Mom getting arrested today, her schedule had been completely thrown off. It was crazy to think that in one day she'd gone from worrying about getting to the gym and refurbing Switzer's old cabinet into a drink station to being prime suspect in a murder investigation and having to hire an attorney for her mother.

  Her friend came back with the bottle of wine and two glasses. Noreen poured.

  "Cheers." They clinked glasses.

  “To Mom.”

  “To your mom.”

  “To the woman who never tells me anything important.”

  Noreen looked at her sideways. “Out of love, Miss. Out of love.”

  Missy shrugged and they both drank. The wine had aged—badly—but Missy drank anyway. She needed to take the edge off. Cody picked her head up and looked expectantly at Missy

  "No way, girl. No wine for you."

  Cody dropped her head back into Missy's lap. She actually looked sad.

  "Seriously, how do I manufacture a meeting with Cooper Merritt?" Missy said. "I can't just show up at his door."

  "Wing night."

  "Excuse me?"

  Noreen turned to face her on the couch and sat cross-legged. She had already finished her wine and was going in for seconds. "At Hank's tomorrow night. Wing night. He's usually there."

  Missy had forgotten completely about one of Noreen's weekly rituals. She always attended wing night and had competed locally in wing-eating competitions. Of course she had remained a size four despite frequently gouging on fried food like this.

  "I haven't been to Hank's in..." Missy couldn't even remember.

  Noreen chimed in. "Two years. I remember."

  "Wow."

  Noreen shrugged. "We used to have a lot of fun."

  Missy had stopped doing the local pub thing. Grove City was a small town so it was basically just going out to see everybody she already knew, and beer and fried food did not help in the weight department. In her twenties she had gone out as frequently as Noreen but these days she just couldn't hang and didn't want to drink the empty calories.

  "This will be great!" Noreen rubbed her hands together. "The dynamic duo, finally going out to Hank’s again. We're going to have a great time! We should pick up an outfit for you tomorrow."

  Missy shook her head. The outfit was the least of her concerns. She didn't think it was right for her to be bar-hopping while Mom sat in jail. But then again, the only reason she was going to Hank's was to help Mom in the first place.

  "I'm working all day tomorrow, so I don't have time to shop for an outfit."

  "Even better. I'll get you something."

  The warning bells inside her head went off immediately. Noreen dressed nicely, always found a way to look sexy without appearing slutty. But she had never been a big woman, which meant she had no idea how to shop for Missy. What worked for Noreen wouldn't work for Missy and vice versa.

  "Uh, I'll find something I haven't worn in awhile..."

  "No way, girl! Let me treat you. You never buy yourself new clothes."

  Missy sighed. It was true, she rarely bought new clothes because her return rate had reached a staggering new high: probably over fifty percent. It was just so hard to find outfits that were flattering when it came to these curves.

  "Come on," Noreen said. "It'll be fun. Live a little."

  Missy was too exhausted to put up much of a fight. "Alright, alright." She could always refuse after trying on whatever the getup was tomorrow.

  Noreen clapped excitedly. "Finally."

  "Finally?"

  Noreen gulped her second glass of wine. "Yes, finally. It only took a murder to get you to come out during the week again."

  "Funny."

  They eventually settled in and got caught up on Flea Market Flip. Normally watching the show gave her plenty of ideas for repurposing and refurbishing old stuff for resale, but tonight Missy could barely stay focused. She kept drifting and thinking about her mother sitting in jail of all places, locked up for the night. It was unbelievable. Outrageous. Mom wouldn't--and these days couldn't--hurt a fly and Tyler knew that and yet he'd locked her up all the same. That settled things. Tomorrow morning she'd go down there and chew him out in front of his boss, Chief Brody. No way should he get away with this.

  But as she thought more about Mom, she wondered why Mom hadn't told her about the phone call from Switzer yesterday morning? Given what she'd learned today of Mom's assault, for lack of a better term, maybe she'd underestimated her mother. Mom could get angry and had been upset enough to physically attack someone else. It made her feel like she didn't really know her own mother, that after all these years putting Mom comfortably into a box, she'd been wrong. But could Mom have killed Switzer? No. Missy was sure of it. It didn't make any sense. Why would she wait twenty years to exact revenge on Switzer, when based on her story it sounded like she really blamed Loretta?

  And now that she thought about it, why hadn't Switzer mentioned that he'd talked to Mom when Missy had called him yesterday morning? It seemed like a natural topic that would come up.

  She shook her head. It seemed like the whole town knew more about her parents and their falling out with the Switzers than she did.

  After their fifth episode of Flea Market Flip, Noreen got up to leave because she had to open the next day. Missy walked her to the door.

  "Hang in there, Miss. We'll solve this crime." Noreen gave her a hug and left. Missy waited by the door till she got into her car and drove away. As she did, her headlights shifted and caught Missy's truck. All the stuff was still in her flatbed. She couldn't believe she'd just left it basically sitting out in the driveway since yesterday.

  The Tri-County Flea Market was six days away. It was the best venue to sell her stuff. Last year she'd made over four thousand dollars in profit selling about twenty pieces. The money had come in real handy, especially when she later got a letter from the mortgage company telling her this year's payments were going up unexpectedly.

  And not to mention that her raise this year had been one percent. The owner of the bookstore, Brett, had explained how they hadn't hit their budget for the year and just last week mentioned they might have to further cut back...Missy really needed to get to this market this year. If she was lucky she could make a couple grand in profit. She was going to need it.

  But where would she find the time? Her work schedule was maxed out this week and in her spare time she needed to solve a murder.

  She really needed to get started, but s
he was exhausted. So instead of moving the stuff into her garage, she took out a tarp and covered it in the back of her truck. She fastened the tarp with some rope.

  As she was walking back to her house, headlights cut across her lawn and stuck to her. Behind her, Cody began barking wildly from the front steps. Missy instinctively stepped backward as an expensive-looking car pulled into her driveway. The headlights were white and looked fancy as opposed to usual yellowish tint. When they winked out, Missy got a good look into the car and saw Loretta Switzer in the passenger seat. Missy assumed the driver was her new boyfriend.

  When the pair of them stepped out of the car, Cody came tearing across the lawn. She positioned herself defensively between Missy and the others and wouldn't stop barking.

  "Cody, it's me, girl. Take it easy," Loretta cooed. Her voice was rougher than concrete at fifty miles an hour. She must have smoked her entire life. "Cody."

  "Take that dog inside," the man ordered.

  Missy knew his name but had never met him. "And you are?"

  "Gordon Block. I'm an attorney and have successfully brought more than twenty dog bite cases for my clients before I specialized in real estate, and in fact I still handle them occasionally. You need to take that dog inside before he attacks us."

  Missy was not about to be pushed around by some stranger on her own property. The fact that he'd played the lawyer card on her only further ticked her off.

  "You're standing in my yard, Gordon. If you've got a problem with Cody, you better leave."

  He pointed at the Irish setter. "If that dog attacks us, you'll have even bigger problems on your hands. We will sue you for all you're worth."

  She laughed ruefully. "Blood from a stone, Gordon."

  He had to shout over Cody, who was still going nuts. "I hope you didn't remove any of Albert's belongings from his property yesterday."

  Uh-oh. She was immediately worried about the cabinet, but then thought about it some more. She and Switzer had agreed on a price over the phone, so technically she hadn't removed any of Gordon’s belongings.

  Gordon sensed her uncertainty and pressed on. "Because that would be theft. According to you, Gordon was dead when you found him. That means anything—even the items he had out for the garage sale—are now the property of the estate and must be disposed of according to probate law."

  Missy was smart but knew she would lose in a verbal argument with Gordon Block. He was a high-powered attorney and made his money successfully arguing with people all day long. Better not to get into it with him. Switzer had made her an offer, she'd accepted, everything was fair and square relative to the cabinet.

  "I didn't take any of Mr. Switzer's belongings."

  Gordon regarded her skeptically. He had the perfect face for it. Square jaw, stern mouth, piercing grey eyes. With that stare, he had probably made many witnesses crumble on the stand over his career.

  He was also a big man and kept in shape. Missy recalled what Florence had said earlier: Gordon had started out as a bodybuilder and still looked the part. He was big and broad, with massive muscles moving under his shirt and his arms stretching the sleeves. If she looked up intimidating in the dictionary, she would have probably found a picture of Gordon next to the definition.

  Loretta, as much as Missy hated to admit it, was in spectacular shape for her age and disarmingly pretty. She knew that Loretta had entered all the local beauty pageants in her teens and twenties, winning many of them. She'd had some work done for sure, but still she looked good.

  "I hope you didn't," Gordon said. "Because like I said that would be theft."

  "Yeah, heard you the first time."

  Cody stopped barking and broke into a low, menacing growl. Even Missy was beginning to get nervous, fearful that Cody would attack. She patted Cody's head and rubbed her back, noting that the dog's hair was on end.

  "Okay, Cody, take it easy, girl."

  The dog continued to growl and it was enough to break Gordon's stare.

  The man folded his beefy arms and looked at Loretta. "It was your idea to come out here, I'll be in the car."

  Like a petulant child, Gordon got back into the Tesla and slammed the door shut. Cody finally stopped barking but her body language was still defensive as she kept close watch on their visitors.

  Loretta stepped forward. "I came to talk to you about Albert. Can we go inside?"

  "It's pretty late and I have to get up early tomorrow," Missy said.

  "Fine." Loretta's voice turned icy. "I talked to the police so I know everything. At least, I know everything you told them."

  "What is that supposed to mean?"

  "Did you talk to Albert before he died?"

  The last thing Missy felt like doing was submit to Loretta's questioning. It had been a long day and being suspected of murder was getting old. "Are you working for the police now?"

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "That's right. I didn't."

  Loretta folded her arms. Her eyes became tiny pinpoints on her face. "I heard they arrested your mother."

  Missy said nothing.

  Loretta stepped closer. Cody tensed. Missy rubbed the back of her neck to calm her.

  “They arrested your mother, but you were the one that admitted to being at the house.”

  “Are you about to make a point?” Missy almost wanted Cody to attack. After what Mom had told her this morning about Loretta essentially torpedoing Dad’s opportunity to go into business for himself, she was ready to lash out herself. The injury might have occurred twenty years ago, but Missy was just feeling it for the first time now and it was acute and painful.

  If she felt this strongly about it, Mom must have raged…as her nails dug into her palms, she could understand how Mom had lost her temper all those years ago. How a shouting match had turned physical. They had almost lost everything as a result. It might have taken Dad ten years to commit suicide, but now that Missy was an adult and facing the grown-up problems of employment and mortgages and loneliness, she understood how this missed opportunity had damned him.

  Loretta was very close now. If it hadn’t been for Cody, she would have been right in Missy’s face.

  “I’m about to make several points, actually. First, your family has a history of violence.”

  “How dare you—”

  “Second, it was your mother that tried to kill me all those years ago.”

  “After you robbed us of financial security, I’m sure you provoked her.”

  “Third, your father was mentally ill. I don’t know if he passed any of that along to you, but he clearly had issues. What type of woman marries a man like that? Someone that’s well-adjusted and content? No. What type of daughter would he have?”

  “Me.” Missy put her hands on her hips. “I own my own home. I’ve always been employed, never been in trouble, and I have great friends.”

  Loretta looked right down her nose at Missy. “Never married either. No children. As for your employment, you’ve always worked at a bookstore. That hardly qualifies as a career. And judging by the state of your house I’d say you’re having trouble making your mortgage.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “And look at you.” Loretta smiled wickedly. “You want to hit me right now, don’t you?”

  “Yes, because you’re a raving bitch.”

  Loretta threw her head back and laughed. It was an ugly sound.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “What’s so funny?” Loretta stopped laughing and looked at her. “I actually came to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Albert was such a pain. Everyone in town thinks he’s this sweet man who let me push him around, but he was really not a nice man. Now I don’t have to deal with him anymore, thanks to you.”

  “I didn’t kill him.”

  Loretta stopped smiling. “He had a lot of my personal effects. If you took anything while you were there, you’re going to regret it.”

  It took everything in Missy
’s power to not shake with rage. Loretta was such a vicious, vile creature. She kept quiet, afraid if she spoke she’d just explode.

  “I heard that you spoke to him on the phone before you got there,” Loretta said when she didn’t get an answer. “What did you talk about?”

  “About you, actually.”

  Loretta’s eyes went wide like she hadn’t been expecting that answer. Missy smirked, happy to get under her skin.

  “Liar,” Loretta said.

  Missy nodded. “It’s true. He told me all about you.”

  Loretta looked back over her shoulder at Gordon, who was sitting behind the steering wheel. He perked up when their eyes met. Missy wondered what the look was supposed to mean.

  “You’re full of shit, Melissa DeMeanor.”

  Missy didn’t know why Loretta was so upset, but she didn’t want to waste this opportunity. “He apologized for backing out of the deal with my father. He told me how he should never have listened to you, and that he did it for all the wrong reasons.”

  Loretta’s arms were shaking.

  Missy smiled. “Now get the hell off my property, before I file a restraining order against you.”

  The shaking spread to Loretta’s whole body. Missy watched her, smile on her lips, as Loretta finally turned and stalked back to the car. She slammed the door and Gordon reversed out of the driveway before Loretta could even get buckled in. Cody started barking again as the car sped away.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning Missy woke early. While she’d been asleep, Cody had snuck onto the bed with her, and now the blanket was covered in red dog hair.

  “Cody, you and I are going to have to have a talk. When all the late craziness is over.”

  Cody responded with a thump of her tail against the mattress.

  Missy took a quick shower. She really needed to wash her hair but that was such a process and she didn’t have the time. Coming out of the shower, she examined her full profile in the mirror on the back of her door. God, she really needed to get to the gym but that would have to wait.

  Her capris felt tighter than usual as she pulled them on. It was probably the stress of the last few days. She remembered finals week in college. Even though she’d barely eaten and studied around the clock for her exams, she never lost any weight. Stress could add pounds.