by Cindy Bell
“I think I would take your guess pretty seriously. This might help us out. Is there any reason you didn’t report it to the officer yesterday? I didn’t find anything about this in his notes.”
“Honestly, I didn’t want word getting back to Vince that I mentioned it, and I wasn’t sure that it would have any relevance to the case.” Joyce met his eyes. “But Adam didn’t deserve to die, no matter what he was involved in.”
“I see. I’m glad that you’re on his side. He doesn’t have much family to speak of and most of the people I’ve interviewed say they knew him, but didn’t really know him. It’s refreshing to find someone concerned about him.” Detective Crackle smiled slightly.
“He didn’t have anyone?” Brenda sighed at the thought of such a young man so alone in the world.
“Some distant relatives in another state, but his parents both died young and as far as I can tell, he didn’t have any siblings.”
“Who is going to arrange the funeral?” Joyce asked.
“An aunt from Florida, but she doesn’t sound too thrilled with the idea,” Detective Crackle explained.
“Well, if you could give her our number.” Joyce handed him a business card. “Whatever we can do to help, we will. I’m sure there are quite a few people around here that would like the chance to honor his memory.”
“Wonderful, I’ll let her know.” He tucked the business card into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Thanks for the tip, ladies. I will look into Vince. In the meantime, stay safe.”
“We will, thank you.” Brenda escorted him to the door and waited until he was clear of the steps before she closed the door. She looked back at Joyce. “That was so kind of you to offer.”
“It’s the least I could do.” She shook her head. “We can’t let this rest, Brenda. We’re going to need to keep digging.”
“I agree.” Brenda pursed her lips as she looked out through the window of the truck. “I wonder how many of these other people might know something that they’re afraid to speak up about.”
“Some people still adhere to a mind-your-own-business philosophy. I’m glad that we told the detective about Vince. Of course he is the obvious suspect. He’s probably involved in crime to begin with. But I wonder why he would take such a big risk. He had to expect that fingers would be pointed in his direction when Adam showed up dead.”
“Maybe it wasn’t thought out. Maybe he got angry and lost control.” Brenda placed a donut tray in the oven and put the donuts from a baking sheet into the deep fryer. She picked up the empty baking sheet. As she moved it towards the sink, a beam of sunlight shone through the window and bounced off the shiny baking sheet.
“Oh! That’s it!” Joyce gasped. “That’s like the flash I saw. It was just like that.”
“Like what?” Brenda looked between the baking sheet and the sun, then back to Joyce.
“I knew it was a reflection of some kind. Oh my, Brenda, what if it was a reflection off the murder weapon? Whoever killed Adam might have swung his weapon through the air and caught the sunlight on its surface.”
“If that’s the case, then whatever was used to kill Adam must have been metal, or at least made out of something reflective.”
“Like a baking sheet? I’m not sure that something like that could do so much damage.”
“No, I don’t think so either.” Brenda picked up the sheet and tapped it on the counter. “It’s much too light.”
“But I know it was that kind of flash. It was just as bright.” Joyce pointed towards the baking sheet. “I think we should test this out.”
“How can we do that?” Brenda washed off the baking sheet as she listened to Joyce’s idea.
“We can recreate the moment. The scene is no longer roped off, so we can position ourselves the best we can where we think the murderer might have been, at exactly the same time that I saw the flash. Maybe we’ll be able to recreate it. If the baking sheet doesn’t give the same reflection, then we might be able to try out other things.”
“Maybe the police already know what the murder weapon is. That might be an easier way to figure it out,” Brenda suggested.
“Yes, it might be. But they might not know exactly what it was, and we’re not going to have access to that information unless Detective Crackle decides he wants to be very informative, which I doubt he will.”
“Okay, I think it’s worth a shot trying to recreate the moment. Maybe if we time it right, we’ll get a good result.”
“At least it’s something that we can try. Meanwhile, I think we should consider whether some of Adam’s friends might have been involved. According to Matt, they’re a rough group. If he had no close family to speak of, then he might have really clung to them.”
“That would make sense.” Brenda nodded. “Maybe something happened to create some bad blood between them. Do you have any idea how we can find them?”
“No, unfortunately, Matt didn’t know any names.” Joyce sighed.
“Maybe I can get Charlie to look into Adam’s life a little. He has a nose for following the finances, and finances often lead to other things about a person’s life.”
“Do you think he’d be willing to?” Joyce’s eyes widened.
“Yes, I’m sure he would if I asked. Trust me, he’s just as interested in finding the killer as we are.” Brenda smiled.
That evening when Brenda arrived at home, she found Charlie hard at work in his office. She lingered by the door for a few minutes, as he seemed so engrossed. Sophie waved to her from her bedroom and put a finger to her lips. That meant Dad was working on something big. She bit into her bottom lip and started to back away from the door, but the moment she did, a floorboard creaked beneath her foot. Charlie looked up with wide eyes. His shock faded into a smile when he saw her.
“Hey there, beautiful. I didn’t know you were home.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. It looks like you’re working hard on something.”
“I am.” He gestured for her to step in. “Close the door. I don’t want Sophie to overhear too much.”
“Okay.” Brenda frowned as she closed the door behind her. “What’s going on, is it a big story?”
“The biggest.” He swiveled in his chair to face her. “Now, don’t be upset.”
“Upset about what?” She raised an eyebrow. “I’m a little upset now, since you told me not to be.”
“I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to look into things a little. I thought, just to get an idea of what you were up against. I figure that maybe I should try to find out information about Adam.”
“Are you kidding?” She laughed and shook her head.
“Okay, not exactly the response I expected.” He pushed his glasses up along his nose and studied her.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I was going to ask you to look into him. That’s why I was thinking about interrupting you. Did you find anything?” She looked past him at the monitor.
“A few things. His parents were killed in a car accident when he was just a teen. He lived with an aunt on and off for a few years, but mostly off. She didn’t seem to have much of a handle on him. Anyway, the one place he could always be found, according to his social media profiles, was a comic book shop on Dash Avenue.”
“A comic book shop? He didn’t seem like the type to read comic books.”
“It’s not your typical comic book shop. The things they sell have darker themes. There appear to be events and activities that are more centered around violence.”
“Wow. I can’t believe I had no idea that he was involved in all of this.” She stared at the images of Adam on the screen in a few promotional pictures for the shop.
“I can’t say that he currently was. These are old pictures, and none of the recent events list him as a participant. Still, I think the comic book shop is a good lead if you want to give it to the detective on the case.”
“I’m sure he’ll come across it on his own.” Brenda ran her thumb across her lips, then ta
pped the screen. “Can you print the address for me?”
“I told you not to touch the screen.” He huffed dramatically and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. A moment later, the printer whirred to life. “What are you going to do with it?”
“Oh, I just thought Joyce might want to see it.” She plucked the paper from the printer tray.
“Brenda.” He caught her around the waist and pulled her down into his lap. She laughed at the sudden transition and his playful nature. “I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything.” He kissed her cheek. “What’s Joyce up to?”
“It’s fine, Charlie. She just wants to look into things herself a little. We all want the same thing. To feel safe on Green Street again as soon as possible.”
“It wouldn’t be safe for you to check out this place on your own. Who knows what kind of people hang out there. All right?” He released her from his lap and met her eyes as she stood up.
“I understand your concern, Charlie. But this is my work, my business, that we’re talking about. I’ve put my heart into this truck, and if we end up not being able to stay in this area for some reason, it will be difficult to set up somewhere else. I just want to know that every stone has been turned over, that’s all.”
“And what happens if you find something rotten under one of those stones?” He ran his hand across his face, then shook his head. “It’s a dangerous game to get involved in.”
“I’m not getting involved. Just looking from the outside. That’s all.”
“Okay, but you have to promise me that if you get into any kind of situation that doesn’t feel right, you leave, or call me, right away. Can you do that?” Charlie searched her eyes.
“Yes, I can.” She stroked her finger along the curve of his cheek. “You know my family comes first, Charlie.”
“I do.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “Speaking of family, I might have forgotten to make dinner.”
“No problem, I’ll whip something up.” Brenda smiled.
As soon as she stepped out into the hall, Sophie wrapped her arms around her waist. Brenda took a breath and savored the sweet sensation of her daughter’s affection. As much as she wanted to find out who killed Adam, she needed to tread carefully because she didn’t want to end up in danger, and like she told Charlie, her family did always come first.
Chapter 6
The next morning, Joyce arrived before Brenda for once. She hurried to get to the truck as she had received a text from Brenda that she was running late. Joyce got the oven warmed up, then set an alarm for the time she thought she’d stepped out of the cleaners. She wanted to do her best to recreate the flash.
“Morning Joyce.” Brenda stepped into the truck with a smile. “Sorry, I’m running a little behind today. Charlie was able to come up with some information, so we might be able to contact Adam’s friends.” She held out the piece of paper for Joyce to look over.
“So, this was his hangout?”
“As of a year ago, yes. Charlie couldn’t be sure if he still spent time there, but I would guess that he did, since he’d been going there for so long. Maybe we can check it out after closing?”
“Sounds good to me. But first I want to see if we can make that flash again.”
“Absolutely.” Brenda immersed herself in baking while Joyce did some research about the comic book shop on her tablet. Not long after, they were flooded with customers.
When there was a break in the rush, Joyce peered out through the window and saw another crowd approaching. “I think they must be here to try to get a look at the crime scene. We’re never this busy this early.”
“I think you’re right. I guess once word got around about the murder, people got curious.” Brenda frowned as she washed her hands. “I don’t see why anyone would want to have a look, but I guess to each their own.”
“It might be a bit like what we’re doing. Investigating the crime ourselves. People around here want to feel safe again. Maybe they think by taking a look, they will be able to calm their nerves.”
“Maybe.” Brenda started a batch of baked donuts as they were quite popular with the afternoon crowd. “Is it time yet?”
“About forty minutes.” Joyce peered through the window to see that the sky was still clear. She was relieved to see that it was. It was getting closer to lunchtime, and she could see that Pete’s hamburger truck already had quite a queue of people waiting to be served. With the hot dog truck out of commission, his sales had to have doubled.
“Great, these should be ready by then.”
“We can close up for a few minutes.” Joyce began to sort through the pans in one of the storage drawers. She selected a thick, shiny metal baking sheet, a large, heavy-based saucepan, and a sheet cake pan. The only one she thought could deliver a hard enough blow to harm someone was the heavy-based saucepan, but she doubted that would create the flash she’d seen.
After everything was gathered and the donuts were in the oven, Brenda stepped out to make a call to her husband. While she was gone, Joyce took the time to clean up the counters and wash the dishes. They didn’t really have separate tasks, they just did what needed to be done. Aside from the baking, Joyce was involved in every step of the process, and though Brenda tried to show her a few recipes, Joyce always managed to burn things. It was a running joke between herself and her late husband. She would cook, and he would scrape the remains out of the pan. For the first ten years of their marriage, she thought he enjoyed things charred as he complimented her so much. It wasn’t until he finally admitted that he was only trying to be kind that she took a cooking class. That was a disaster. From then on, her husband took over most of the evening meals while she mastered everything else. Since his passing, she ate mostly fresh food and sandwiches, not much that required the oven to be used. She smiled to herself as she set the last pan down on the rack to dry. He’d been so careful with her feelings, and at the time it infuriated her that he would lie to her. But now, looking back, she understood just how much he valued her.
“Hey! What’s burning?” Pete stuck his head through the serving window.
“What?” Joyce sniffed the air and detected burnt donuts. “Oh no!” She lunged for the oven door and reached for the pan.
“Joyce, don’t!” Brenda shouted as she rushed into the truck. Joyce froze just before she would have grabbed the hot pan with her bare hands. She took a step back as Brenda moved in front of her with an oven mitt and pulled the pan out of the oven. She set it on the stove and turned off the oven. As the truck filled with the scent of burnt dough, Joyce leaned back against the counter behind her and tried to calm her breathing. What was she thinking?
“Joyce, are you all right?” Brenda turned to look at her.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think about getting the oven mitts.” She shook her head. “I should have taken the donuts out of the oven, I’m so sorry.”
“No, they still had a few minutes left.” Brenda frowned and kicked the side of the oven. “I think this thing is acting up again. We’re going to have to have someone look at it.”
“I can get you my guy if you want.” Pete leaned on the outside of the truck. “He worked on my deep fryer last week.”
“Yes, that would be good.” Joyce placed a hand on her heart and willed it to slow down. The fact that she’d almost burned her hands still had her a little unsettled.
“Well, these are done for, and I think the pan is, too. I’m going to take it to the dumpster so we can hopefully get this smell out of here. I don’t think customers are going to be too interested in buying burnt anything.”
“Yes, you’re right. I can take it though if you want.”
“No, it’s all right. When I come back, we can close up and let the place air out a bit while we do that experiment.”
“All right, yes, that sounds good.” Joyce forced a smile to her lips.
Brenda was too kind to say anything about it, but Joyce could see the worry in her eyes. It wasn’t the first time
that Joyce had done something absent-minded. On one of the rare occasions she had helped Brenda make the donut dough, she’d poured an entire cup of flour into a mixture that called for sugar. It was just hard for her to keep things straight sometimes as her mind tended to wander on to other topics.
“I’ll walk with you.” Pete met Brenda at the bottom of the steps.
“Okay, if you’d like.” Brenda glanced over at him and noticed that he had ketchup smeared all over the front of his apron. He was one of the messiest people she’d seen on the street. Somehow, by the end of the night, he always had every possible condiment on his apron, and other areas of his body, including his hair. In his forties, Pete had a dark and steamy look that made him fairly attractive. Many of the women that worked in the trucks, and the customers who visited, would go out of their way to talk with him. Brenda, on the other hand, found him to be a bit arrogant, and since she had no interest in anyone other than Charlie, his handsomeness was lost on her.
“So, any news about Adam?” Pete asked.
“No. You could call and check with the detective if you want.” She headed straight for the dumpster.
“No, I’d rather not. You know, once you get too involved, they’re going to find something they don’t like.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I would say that.” She smiled and opened the lid to the dumpster. “As long as you don’t have anything to hide, I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”
“Who doesn’t have something to hide?” He chuckled. “We all have a past, am I right?”
She tossed the donut pan into the dumpster, then turned to look at him. “I’m not sure. I don’t think I have anything to worry about in my past.”
“Oh no? I guess you’re one of the few.”
“How are you handling the increase in business?”
“It’s great. I mean, not that Adam is dead, but it’s nice to have so many customers. I’m sure they will get a new hot dog guy in eventually. Too bad, because I really liked Adam. No one can replace him.”