by Susan Harper
“Thanks, Dawn,” Jefferson said. “I’ll let Felicity know what you told me. Who knows, it might lead to something. You never really know.”
“No, I guess you don’t. I got to go. They’re going to let me see Monte again today, and I don’t want to be late,” Dawn said, her voice a little shrill.
“Listen, Dawn, we’re going to fix this,” Jefferson said firmly. “And you can tell Monte that. Tell him Team Senoia Sleuths are on the case, all right? He knows we’ve got a good track record.”
“You, Jack, and Felicity do make a pretty good team,” Dawn said. “If Monte’s got any chance of getting out of there by Saturday, I know it will be because of you guys.”
“You know it!” Jefferson said with an extra bit of enthusiasm for Dawn’s benefit. “If you need anything, let us know.”
“Thanks, Jefferson,” she said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Jefferson took a breath. He really hoped that Jack or Felicity had something more than the fact that Edgar owned a cabin up in Blueridge, because he really didn’t want to disappoint Dawn.
Chapter 9
Felicity arrived back at the shop just as Jefferson was pulling up. She raised a brow, surprised that he would leave the shop with Trixie and Fix. True, she felt very confident about the hires, but leaving them on such a busy day seemed a little risky. Jefferson hopped out of his car, and they met around back and headed in through the employee entrance. “You left Trixie and Fix alone in the shop?” Felicity asked.
“Not for long,” he assured her. “I ran down to the hospital and did some interviews.”
“Anything good?” Felicity asked.
“Maybe,” he said. “But, honestly, I am not sure. Edgar was not exactly a social butterfly, so most people at the hospital didn’t know much about him.”
They went from the backroom to the main lobby where Trixie and Fix were working hard dusting and straightening display books. Trixie practically leapt down from the little stepping stool she had been standing on, duster in hand, when she spotted them. “I booked an event!” she exclaimed. “Jefferson, you didn’t answer your phone! Oh, I hope I did everything right!”
Felicity felt her stomach drop. Booked an event! There was so much that went into that, including setting a fee. Before she had a chance to get upset, she took a deep breath. “Show me what you got,” Felicity said.
Trixie pulled out the paperwork, including a contract signed by herself and the new customer, and Felicity felt her skin itch. She worried Trixie might have overlooked something, but much to her amazement, everything was in order. “I decided to wait before I put it into the computer system, but I made sure we didn’t double book, and I based the fee off a previous party you had done. They wanted your Super Sleuth party package for a murder mystery birthday party, and that’s one thing I was really familiar with…so, I hope you don’t mind I didn’t try calling you, Felicity.”
Felicity smiled. “Trixie, you did perfect. Come here and I’ll teach you how to put all of this into the computer system. Did the customer have any specific requests?”
“Not really. Fifteen expected party guests, though,” Trixie said.
“You did everything exactly as I would have done it,” Felicity said happily. She showed Trixie how to put the information into the computer, and by the time they were done, Jack and Patrick had arrived back.
“Time to reconvene,” Jack said as the two of them approached the counter.
“Trixie, you and Fix think you can handle the floor a bit longer while the four of us meet in my office?” Felicity asked.
Trixie grinned. “Got it!”
“Great,” Felicity said, and the four of them slipped into the small office. She sat down at the desk, and the guys crowded around. “Okay, what did everyone find? I guess I can start. I learned from Valerie about their divorce. Lilly was the name of the hooker, and she went missing not long after the divorce. She claims she only knew she went missing because Edgar had called her crying when he couldn’t find her. He told Valerie that Lilly had gone out with a client and never came back.”
“That story checks out with her former pimp,” Patrick said. “He’s cleaned up. Runs a battered women’s shelter up in Atlanta now. Says he went to the police looking for her not long ago and that he had been told Lilly has had a missing persons report on her for years.”
“How did the ex-wife seem?” Jack asked.
“Honestly, not suspicious at all,” Felicity said. “But I’ve been wrong about that sort of thing before. She wasn’t very broken up about Edgar, but she wasn’t celebrating either. She told me they had been drifting apart for years and was actually relieved he had cheated because it gave her a good excuse to leave. She didn’t even ask for much during the divorce, just their smaller property that they owned together and their double-wide trailer.”
“You manage to dig anything up, Jefferson?” Jack asked.
“Not really,” he said. “I went by the hospital and talked about Edgar some, but no one really had much of anything to say about him. He was really secluded. Did you ask the pimp about the night Edgar was arrested?”
“Yeah, he says Edgar was actually defending Lilly from another client who got abusive,” Patrick said. “But Lilly was pressured into lying and ultimately dropped charges against everyone to keep her pimp happy.”
“So, Edgar got into a fight all because he was defending a prostitute?” Felicity asked. “Interesting. Valerie also mentioned to me that he had been sending checks to Lilly for months leading up to the incident, so it sounds like he had hired her before.”
“Really? That’s awfully contradictory to what we heard from Sonny, the pimp, today,” Jack said. “Sonny told us he had never seen Edgar before the night of the fight.”
“Maybe Lilly was making money on the side without giving any to her pimp?” Patrick suggested.
They started throwing theories around, and soon it grew late. It was close to closing time. Felicity piped up suddenly as she reviewed her notes. “Oh, wow, I can’t believe I forgot to mention this, you guys,” she said. “Valerie told me that after Lilly went missing, Edgar had taken out a loan from a sketchy loan shark named Big Zeus.”
“Big Zeus?” Jack asked. “I know Big Zeus. A few people around here have taken loans out from him. He’s not that sketchy, but he is pretty intimidating.”
“Did Edgar ever pay him back?” Jefferson asked.
“Valerie didn’t know,” Felicity said. “But it was a pretty hefty loan. She thinks it was for a private investigator to attempt to find Lilly. Forty thousand dollars.”
Jefferson sat upright. “Forty thousand?” he asked. “Wait, I might know what the loan was actually for. A nurse at the hospital named Willie told me that Edgar bought a cabin up in Blueridge a few years ago that he never uses. He got it for forty grand.”
“So…your hooker girlfriend goes missing, and then you buy a cabin in the mountains?” Jack asked.
“Jefferson, do you think you could get an address for that cabin?” Patrick asked.
“I think so,” he said. “Willie said his brother did the electrical work on the cabin recently. I’m sure his brother has the address. I got Willie’s number, so hold on a second and I’ll call him.” Jefferson stepped out, and Felicity could hear him talking with Trixie and Fix briefly for a moment before making the call; she was sure he was telling them to head on home since it was past closing time now.
He returned shortly, looking disappointed. “Willie says his brother works nights, so he’ll have to get the information for me in the morning,” Jefferson said.
“Well, keep on that, all right?” Patrick said. “No other addresses showed up in Edgar’s records. For some reason, he was keeping this cabin a secret.”
“I’ll call him again first thing in the morning,” Jefferson promised.
“It’s late,” Jack said, disappointed. “We should go home and rest and all of us get ready to pick this back up in the morning. Sounds like some of us will be
heading to Blueridge.”
“Sounds like it,” Felicity said, and the four of them departed from the shop after locking up. Felicity got in the car with Jefferson and they headed home. As they were pulling up, they spotted two shadowy figures in the driveway. They paused a moment before getting out, but Jefferson snorted slightly. “It’s Veronica… Is that Agent Ryan with her?”
“That’s weird,” Felicity said as they climbed out of the car.
The couple looked like they had been headed off on a date night before stopping by. “Felicity, good to see you,” Agent Ryan said, smirking. “Veronica told me you two would be getting home soon.”
Felicity reached out and shook the man’s hand. Jefferson did the same. “What are you doing here?” Jefferson asked.
“We were just passing through,” Agent Ryan said. “About to head out to dinner.”
Veronica smiled. “You guys find anything out yet?”
“Not yet,” Felicity said. “But this wedding is happening. We’re going to get Monte out of jail, I promise.”
“You better,” Veronica said. “Dawn is really freaking out, and I’m sure Monte is worse off than her.”
“Did you two drop by just to ask about the case?” Jefferson asked.
“Well,” Agent Ryan said, turning his attention to Felicity. “I also wanted to ask if you have had time to consider my proposal about the academy?”
Felicity frowned. “Obviously, Ryan, I’m not so sure. I feel so honored that you would think of me, and it all sounds very exciting…but, your timing could not possibly be worse. My shop has been open for about a year now. It’s still so new. Dipping out to go train with the FBI…and then who knows where that would take me? I enjoy the whole amateur PI thing, but I don’t know about FBI training. That might be a little extreme for me.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid to do what you do?” he asked. “Not to mention you get to travel. See new places.”
“I guess I’m just a small town girl at heart,” Felicity said.
“Think about it,” he said.
“Of course,” Felicity said and then looked at Veronica. “You better quit tormenting her and take her out on her date. Your new girl is not a patient woman, I promise you.”
Veronica rolled her eyes, but she smiled and hooked arms with Ryan. “Ready to go?” she asked.
“Ready,” he said, and the two of them headed toward his vehicle parked in the road. Jefferson and Felicity headed inside, and Jefferson laughed slightly.
“What’s so funny?” Felicity asked.
“You’re a party planner,” he said. “And you are being recruited by the FBI. I think it’s funny.”
“I guess it is kind of funny when you put it like that,” she said.
“Have you put any thought into his offer?” Jefferson asked.
“Some,” she said. “And, as exciting as it sounds, I’m probably going to turn it down. It’s just not for me.”
Jefferson threw his keys down on the kitchen counter and stretched slightly. “So, you really think that we can clear Monte’s name before the wedding this weekend?”
“I certainly hope so,” Felicity said. “Dawn and Monte are meant for each other. I couldn’t imagine a couple more deserving of a perfect dream wedding. I don’t want this to be ruined for the two of them, you know? What’s happening right now, well, it’s not right. I want them to be able to put this behind them. Dawn should be enjoying pre-wedding jitters, making last-minute planning decisions, and worrying about who is going to sit with who and making sure the deejay knows which songs to play. Not worrying about whether or not her husband is going to be able to make it to his own wedding!”
“I agree,” Jefferson said. “And, we’re going to do everything that we can to make sure they have the best wedding possible—both as the super sleuth team and as the world’s best wedding planners. Got it?”
“Got it,” Felicity said with a smirk. “Don’t forget to call Willie first thing in the morning to get that address.”
“You should probably text Autumn tonight too,” Jefferson said. “We haven’t had a chance to ask about the body. She might have something useful for us to look at if we go by the morgue.”
“Good point,” Felicity said. “I’ll text her tonight, and we can swing by the morgue tomorrow before we head up to Blueridge.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jefferson said. “Good night, Felicity.”
“Good night, Jefferson,” Felicity said and dipped into her bedroom. She sent Autumn a quick text before getting ready for bed, passing out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter 10
With Trixie being off work for school, there was no way they were leaving Fix alone in the shop. He was responsible, but he was not Trixie responsible. Jefferson remained behind with Fix while Felicity, Jack, and Patrick headed to the Coweta County Morgue to meet up with Autumn. Autumn ran the entire morgue now, and was positively glowing in her new position.
A receptionist had greeted them and had called Autumn up to the front, and the woman was all smiles when she saw them. “Hey, guys,” Autumn said. “Felicity told me you three would be coming by. Come on to the back.”
They followed her back to the cold storage room where Edgar’s body had just been pulled out for additional examination. He was covered in a white sheet, but that didn’t make Felicity any less uncomfortable. “Look at you, Autumn,” Jack teased slightly. “You’re really enjoying your new position, huh? You look like a regular queen of the dead.”
“Thanks?” Autumn mused. “Yeah, I’m pretty excited. I get to work closer with my dad now too.”
“What’s your father do?” Patrick asked, not as in-tune with the group of friends since he was mostly just acquainted with Jack.
“He’s Coweta’s head coroner,” she said. “My mom also runs the local funeral homes.”
“So…your family has just made a monopoly of all things deceased?” Patrick asked.
“When you say it like that, it just sounds weird,” Autumn complained.
“Don’t think too much about it, Patrick, or it will creep you out,” Felicity joked. “Autumn’s family is great. Her mom is also a licensed grief therapist, which makes sense in her position.”
“I’m thinking about doing the same thing,” Autumn said. “You know me, Felicity. I got into this sort of work because I’m interested in it. I deal with grieving families all the time, and I can be a little insensitive at times.”
“Well, you have to be, I’m sure,” Jack said. “Otherwise, you’d get yourself worked up doing this sort of work.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to upset people either. For me, this is just another day at work, but for the people I work with, it’s the worst day of their lives,” Autumn said. “Although, truth be told, Edgar has not had anyone coming down here to check in on him. Sounds like he doesn’t have any family.”
“Yeah, the department is having a hard time contacting relatives,” Patrick said. “Sounds like he really wasn’t in contact with much of anyone.”
“Well, that’s just sad,” Felicity said and then her eyes lingered toward the table. “What can you tell us, Autumn? I’d love to just stay and chat, but we’ve got to drive up to Blueridge today to check out a piece of property Edgar might have owned.”
“I can tell you he was stabbed several times. He didn’t bleed out, though. Cause of death was a punctured lung. I’ve managed to sort of ID the type of weapon that might have been used. It was a knife, but it was definitely a hook blade,” Autumn said. “The punctures, if you want to look, were very detrimental. If the killer hadn’t have punctured his lung, he certainly would have bled out or had some very serious stitching to deal with. The interior damage is just as bad as the exterior cuts because the hook on the blade would snag anything it could. Blood vessels, nerve endings, and in the case of his gut, some of his intestines.”
“That’s disgusting,” Felicity muttered.
“The police have told me that thi
s kill was likely done very quickly,” Autumn said. “Which means you’re absolutely dealing with someone very strong. To stab this deep with a blade hook would be difficult, and it would take a good bit of strength to remove the knife after each stab as well. Every stab is deep and intentional. To get this many stabs in with such a short period of time, well, let’s just say I don’t think Monte could have done this. He’s not exactly the big, macho type. I mean, he’s strong, but not like this.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not going to be enough to prove Monte’s innocence. Especially not coming from a friend of his,” Patrick said.
“Believe me, I know,” Autumn said. “I hope you guys find something that can clear his name. His wedding is only a few days away now. I talked to Dawn this morning, and they’re talking about cancelling the whole thing until he can get out of jail.”
“Let her know that won’t be necessary,” Jack said confidently. “We’re on it.”
The three of them said farewell to Autumn before loading up in the patrol car and heading north. It was a long drive to Blueridge, and they had some difficulty locating the cabin. It was in the middle of nowhere, miles from any sort of civilization. They had to park a considerable distance from the cabin because of the rocky terrain, and there was no trail or driveway leading up to it. “Someone sure didn’t want this place to be found,” Patrick said. “This is starting to look really sketchy. I think Edgar might have been into some messy stuff, what do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I agree. Look, there’s smoke coming out of the cabin’s chimney.”
“Someone lives here?” Felicity asked. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”
“You better stay back,” Jack suggested, and Felicity huffed.
She crossed her arms. “You really think I’m going to stay in the car? How well do you know me, Jack?”
“The lady has a point,” Patrick said, climbing out of the driver’s seat. “If anything, you should stay back, Jack. Last thing you want is to get hurt and the chief find out about you being here. I really don’t want you losing your job over this.”