by Cindy Bell
“Hi sweetie.” She picked her up and carried her to the couch. “I’ve had a very rough day. I’m so glad you’re here to snuggle with.” She patted the top of the bunny’s head. “I still keep thinking about what might have happened if I’d left the cleaners sooner. Maybe I would have interrupted the killer, and Adam would still be alive.” She closed her eyes and pictured Adam the last time she saw him. To her, he was just a kid, just starting out in life and happy. She considered the conversation she’d witnessed the night before and wondered if it might have had something to do with what happened to Adam. Maybe he tried to double-cross Vince, or cheat him somehow. As much as she didn’t want drugs to be in the area, she didn’t want a murderer on the loose either. After she watched a show with Molly, she retired to her room. Even after a bath and changing into pajamas, she couldn’t relax. She paced back and forth, not unlike Davey once did when he had trouble with a case.
“I know I should stay out of it, I know the police will handle it, but how can I risk the truck and everything Brenda and I have invested in it?” She paused right in front of her husband’s picture and frowned. “You wouldn’t let things rest, would you? Nope, like a dog with a bone, you would chew this to bits.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. There were times when she missed her husband deeply, but in many ways she didn’t consider him to be gone. His memory was still so alive in her mind that just an imagined conversation could give her comfort. “Yes, you’re right, Davey. Things can’t just be ignored or swept under a rug. Where there’s a bad apple, there’s bound to be a bad bushel.” When she was finally able to fall asleep, her mind still swirled with ideas of how to solve the crime herself.
As Joyce slept, strange images filled her dreams. The dream itself was fractured into bits and pieces. At one point she saw Adam waving to her from his truck, but a bright flash of light blinded her, and when her eyes opened again she saw a wide open meadow, silent and without a soul in sight. At another point in the dream Brenda and her daughter Sophie walked down the sidewalk towards the donut truck. She felt desperate to warn them about something, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t catch up with them. She tried to yell to get their attention, but not a sound escaped her lips. Just as Brenda began to look over her shoulder, another flash of light blinded her. When she opened her eyes again, Davey was there, with his endless smile and deep brown eyes. He laughed for no apparent reason. His laughter had always been infectious, and even when she didn’t know the joke, she found herself laughing with him. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then kissed her cheek.
“It isn’t about the hot dogs, love.”
Joyce bolted upright in her bed and drew in a deep breath. Her body was coated in sweat, but her lips were curved in a smile, as if she had just been laughing in her sleep. The turmoil of her emotions was enough to spark a sense of urgency within her. Was there something about the dream that she should remember? If there was, it had faded too fast for her to grasp it. Light already peeked through the window in her bedroom. She glanced at her bedside clock and saw that it was about fifteen minutes earlier than when she would normally wake up.
After a few more moments thinking about the strange dream, Joyce climbed out of bed. Her eyes watered with pain for a moment as her joints protested. Over the past five years, she’d found that mornings became more and more difficult for her, which was one of the main reasons she took it slow. She dropped some extra hay in Molly’s bowl, then turned on the coffee pot. The rabbit sniffed and nibbled at her toes.
“Yes, I know, they’re cold.” She laughed and scooped up the rabbit for a snuggle. After she set her back down, she headed for the shower. Warm water did help to ease some of the stiffness in her body, and usually by the time she finished her coffee, she was in top shape. Mornings were a not-so-gentle reminder that things had changed. She wasn’t as spry as she once was. She liked to think she made up for it with the wisdom she’d gained from years of experience.
After Joyce stepped out of the shower and dressed, she and Molly settled on the couch with her coffee and the rabbit’s favorite chew stick. It was their morning ritual, and it normally filled her with a sense of peace. But that morning it was weighed down by thoughts of what she might find when she arrived at the food truck. Sure, she could have closed it for the day, and she didn’t expect too many customers, but she hoped that she might learn more about what happened to Adam. The flash she’d seen had been repeated in her dreams.
Maybe if she could pinpoint what made it, she could figure something out about Adam’s death. Just as Davey always told her, when there was a crime, it didn’t matter who the lead investigator was, all that mattered was solving it. He never let his role in an investigation limit him. Sometimes that upset his superiors, and sometimes they applauded him for it. She always felt a sense of pride when he solved a case, not because he got acclaim for it, but because she knew just how hard he worked to do it.
“Now it’s my turn, Davey.” She smiled at the memory of him. “Let’s see if I can do the same as you.”
As she left for the food truck, she double-checked to make sure the door was locked, just as Davey always reminded her, then headed off.
Chapter 5
Brenda sat in her car in the parking lot. She stared at the line of trucks. It was hard to think of going to work without Adam being there to greet her. She’d never really thought about what an impact he had on her day. He always had a smile and a wave for her, and even though they didn’t know each other well, his good attitude tended to put her in a better space no matter what happened in the morning.
Since she worked most of her hours on the weekends, it was generally pretty easy to get out the door. But on the weekday mornings that she worked, it could be very chaotic. Between getting Sophie up and her stuff ready for school, which always included missing socks, missing hair bows, or missing homework, and getting Charlie pulled out of whatever story he was working on long enough to remember to take Sophie to school, by the time she left, she was exhausted. That morning had been even worse, as Brenda was weighed down by thoughts of Adam’s murder.
As Brenda stepped out of the car, she tried to focus her thoughts on work so that she wouldn’t be distracted by the chaotic morning. On her way to the truck, she noticed that the police line had already been taken down. She guessed that Pierce had something to do with that. He wouldn’t want a street that was popular and made the city a decent amount of money to be closed for too long.
Brenda paused beside the donut truck and took in the sight of Adam’s hot dog truck. He’d painted it red and tan to depict the hot dogs he sold. It looked so strange as it stood there empty. She guessed that the police had already searched it from top to bottom, and soon it would be removed from the line. Would Adam’s family come to claim it? Did he own it, or lease it? These were things she had no idea about. In fact, she didn’t even know if Adam had family. She entered the donut truck and was greeted by the sweet aroma that always lingered between the metal walls. It was normally a comfort, but this morning, she found it was the final straw in an already emotional day. Her eyes teared up, and she felt a sob building in her chest.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Joyce’s cheerful voice startled her. Brenda spun around to see the smaller woman mounting the steps. “You beat me here again!”
“Here you are with such a great attitude. I wish I could have that kind of cheerfulness.”
“Trust me, I’m not always cheerful. I just wanted to start our day on a high note, but it probably wasn’t appropriate, considering.” She sighed. “I honestly never know how to handle these kinds of things. At Davey’s funeral, I wanted to have lively music and dancing, two things he loved. But the rest of those grieving for him didn’t agree.” She shrugged as she looked into Brenda’s eyes. “I guess everyone faces death differently.”
“It isn’t just Adam. It’s this place. I really would feel more comfortable if the murderer was caught.”
&nbs
p; “I agree, I will feel much better if the murderer was behind bars and all of this gets settled. If you don’t want to be here, Brenda, I will understand, and you are welcome to go home. We can close up for today.”
“No, I do want to be here. There’s nowhere else I want to be.”
“Good. I think we should try to help solve this. I can’t just stand around and wait for the police to figure this out. I have to do something. We are the ones who saw Adam last, other than the killer, and we are the ones that know about the conversation between Adam and Vince.”
“Which I still think we should talk to the police about.”
“I agree, but we have to be careful. If it was Vince that killed Adam, and we let the police know that we witnessed them discussing what we think might be a drug deal, then we could be in danger.” Joyce winced as she recalled the urgency she felt in the dream the night before. Though she’d never given much credence to prophetic dreams, she couldn’t shake the memory. “I know that’s awful to say, but drug dealers can be vicious people.”
“You’re right. But maybe you can speak to the police on the condition of anonymity.”
“Yes, okay. I’ll give the officer a call as soon as we open up.”
“All right, I’ll get started on the baking, you get the register open.”
The two women worked silently for a few moments before a voice from outside the truck startled them both. It was too early for customers, and most of the other truck owners were busy setting up for their day.
“Hello? Is anyone in there?”
“Yes?” Joyce leaned out through the window. “Sorry, we don’t have anything ready just yet, but if you want to wait a few minutes, it’ll be fresh and delicious.”
“Oh, thanks for that, but I’m actually here on another matter. My name is Detective Crackle, and I am here to discuss the death of your colleague.”
“Crackle?” Joyce looked at him as she held back a smile. “Is that short for something?”
“No, unfortunately, it’s just Crackle.” He smiled beneath a bushy brown mustache. “Could I have a few minutes of your time?”
“Of course, what can we help you with?”
“I was informed that you were the person that found Adam. I can see that your truck is positioned right next to his. I believe you will be my best source of information during this investigation. If you’re willing to help, that is.”
“Of course we are. Right, Brenda?” Joyce cast a glance over her shoulder and nodded to Brenda, who offered a smile to the detective.
“We’re all hoping that this gets solved quickly.” Brenda wiped her hands clean of dough as she walked towards the window.
“Anything you can remember would be very helpful.” He pulled out his notebook. “Let’s start with you. Joyce, is it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Joyce is such a beautiful name. It’s always been one of my favorites.” He chuckled, then cleared his throat. “So you discovered the body. How did that happen?”
“I uh, I tripped over his foot.” She frowned and shook her head. “It was terrible.”
“I imagine it was, and I’m sorry for that. But what I mean is, what were you doing just before that?”
“Oh, I was leaving the dry cleaners.”
“The one right here on the street?”
“Yes, May’s place.”
“Okay, and while you were inside the cleaners, or when you stepped out, did you see anything?”
“No, nothing. I wish I had.” She closed her eyes for a moment and recalled the flash in her dreams. “I did see a flash. I have no idea what that could mean. As I was stepping out of the cleaners, I saw a flash. At the time I just assumed it was something reflecting off one of the trucks, but when I went back to what I thought was the same place after the crime, I didn’t see anything flashing. It still could be nothing, I mean, it was just a flash. I didn’t see anything else.”
“Maybe you saw more than you realized in that flash.” He made a note in his notebook. “Can you describe it to me? Was it like a camera flash? Or the flash of a car going by?”
“It sparkled. Similar to when the sun bounces off something reflective.”
“Ah, I see, that’s very interesting. You say you didn’t see it again later?”
“No, but now that I think about it, that makes sense. The sun would have been in a different position at that time.”
“I will consider that.” He made another note. “Now, did you hear anything at all? Maybe a muffled cry? Loud voices?”
“No, nothing. I’ve been trying to recall, but nothing. Not an engine, not a shout, no footsteps, nothing.”
“What about a crash? Or a thump?”
“No.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I know that if I could remember more, then you might have a lead, but I can’t remember what I didn’t hear or see.”
“I understand. You’ve been a great help. If you think of anything more, just contact me, all right?”
“Yes, I will.” Joyce nodded.
“And Brenda, right?”
“Yes.” She smiled.
“You were here in the truck while the murder occurred?”
“Yes, I was.”
“And you didn’t hear anything either?”
“Sometimes when I bake, I turn on music. It helps me to get into the right frame of mind. After the incident that morning, I needed something to clear my head. So no, unfortunately I didn’t hear anything.”
“What incident are you referring to?”
“Oh, it has nothing to do with Adam.”
“I’d like to hear about it just the same, if you don’t mind.” His warm smile emerged from beneath his mustache again, just before he smoothed it down with his palm.
“Councilman Pierce visited the street that morning and I made him some donuts. However, when I delivered them to him, I tripped.”
“She was tripped.” Joyce raised an eyebrow.
“Whatever happened, I smashed the donuts on the councilman’s suit jacket. It was very embarrassing.”
“That’s why I went to the cleaners, to get his jacket cleaned. But I don’t think that has anything to do with what happened to Adam,” Joyce added.
“It’s important that I get the full picture of the last hours of Adam’s life. Anything can be significant if it’s paired with evidence of some kind. Who do you believe tripped Brenda?”
“I don’t just believe it, I know it. It was Gus. He sells fried everything, except for donuts, and in particular, his specialty is fried pickles. He’s the one that tripped Brenda, to make sure that his pickles got all of the attention. I know that sounds ridiculous to you, but the food truck industry is highly competitive. It would not be the first time that someone attempted to sabotage someone else,” Joyce explained.
“Did anyone have bad blood with Adam? Maybe someone who was in competition with him?” Detective Crackle asked.
“Adam is actually the only one that sold hot dogs here,” Joyce said. “I’m not sure how he managed that, other than maybe his hot dogs were so popular perhaps no one wanted to compete with him. But our truck hasn’t been open long. The other vendors have been here a lot longer than us and probably know more about the history between Adam and any other vendors.”
“Pete does sell burgers and fries, and they had a friendly taste-off that compared their French fries. Adam won, but Pete didn’t seem to have any hard feelings about it. They sell different food items, so I don’t think they really considered each other competitors.” Brenda frowned. “I don’t recall any issues between them.”
“I’ll look into that. Thank you for the input.” Detective Crackle shook their hands. “I want to thank you for your time. You’ve both been very helpful. If I have any further questions, is it all right if I contact you?”
“Anytime.” Brenda nodded.
“Same for me.” Joyce glanced past him to the nearly empty street. “I do hope that you can solve this quickly. I don’t think anyone will be at ease until t
he murderer is found.”
“Rest assured, I will do my best.” As the detective walked away, Brenda leaned close to Joyce.
“We need to tell him the truth about Vince. Now is the best time to do it.”
“All right, you’re right.” Joyce leaned through the window again. “Detective Crackle, why don’t you come into the truck for a moment? We have some fresh donuts for you to try.”
He paused and looked back over his shoulder. When he caught Joyce’s eye, he nodded. A moment later, he ascended the steps and joined the two women in the truck.
“I can only assume there’s something you don’t want anyone else to overhear?” He looked between them.
“You are correct.” Joyce peeked out through the window to be sure there was no one nearby, then turned back to the detective. “Adam had a conversation with a man the night before he was killed. He comes across as quite seedy, and rumors around are that he might be involved in criminal activities, in particular drug dealing.”
“What man? Do you know his name?” He whipped out his notepad again. Joyce held her breath. Brenda rested a hand on her back.
“We don’t want any trouble. He strikes me as a dangerous man.” Brenda frowned.
“So then you know who it is?” Detective Crackle raised his brown eyes to Brenda’s. She was startled by the sudden eye contact.
“Yes.” She glanced at Joyce, then nodded. “Vince. Vince Marritelli.”
“Oh, I know that name.” He made a note. “What do you think this conversation was about?”
“I don’t know.” Joyce crossed her arms. Brenda nudged her foot. “What? I don’t. It was only a guess of what they might be saying.”
“A guess?” Detective Crackle studied her. “Anything you can provide will be helpful, I’m sure of it.”
“I think it might have had something to do with drugs. I hate to think that about Adam, but from what I overheard, there was mention of merchandise and pounds. I just can’t think of anything else it might have been about. Honestly, I can’t be certain that was what it was regarding, I can only guess.”