by Rose Pressey
“You’re very pretty. I hope you don’t mind if I tell you that,” Mark said.
It kind of gave me the creeps, actually.
“Listen, I’m a photographer, and I would love to take your picture sometime. I can tell that you’d be photogenic.”
I bet he’d used that line a thousand times. I’d probably heard it almost that often. He should come up with something new and original.
“I’m kind of camera shy,” I said.
He scowled as if this was the worst thing I could have said. I needed to get on to the subject of the recent murder. That was the whole reason for this encounter.
“Actually, I think I’ve seen you before,” I said.
The line between his brow furrowed. “Really?”
“Yes, I’m sure I’ve seen you before. Are you April Beaumont’s boyfriend?”
His eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe I’d mentioned his girlfriend’s name. Believe it, buddy.
“Yes, she is my girlfriend,” he stammered. “Well, we were kind of dating.”
“I don’t like him,” Ama said.
Van barked. We all saw through his act.
“I heard what happened to her friend. That’s horrible. Do they have any idea who did that?”
I had taken enough time talking to this guy, and I wanted to get straight to the point.
He knocked over his coffee cup, spilling the light brown liquid across the table.
“Not that I’m aware of,” he said, picking up the cup.
“I guess it was tough since you’d been arguing with April about dating Erica.”
I took a chance and mentioned this. I had no idea how he would react. He didn’t respond, as if he’d lost the ability to speak.
“Were you actually dating Erica?”
Maybe he really was, and that might explain the photos. Though they were still creepy and stalkerish.
“Who are you again?” he asked with a frown. “I don’t remember April mentioning you.”
“Well, we were friends. How else would I know about your fight?”
He studied my face.
“I’m sure April doesn’t share everything about her life with you,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes as if the thought of this made him angry. I sensed this guy had a temper. I didn’t want to see the full force of it either.
He leaned back in the chair. “Yes, Erica and I were dating.”
Wow. So he was admitting it. I wondered if he had admitted this to April. He had to wonder whether, if I was friends with April, I would tell her now. I felt as if I needed to tell her if she didn’t already know. How would I share this news with her, though?
Anxiety coursed through my veins. This definitely made him a suspect. Perhaps I was in over my head here. What would I ask him next? It wasn’t as if I could just come out and ask him if he’d murdered Erica. Well, I supposed I could, but killers typically didn’t confess. Sometimes they did, though. They liked to brag about what they’d done. I was so confused.
“When was the last time you saw Erica?” I asked.
This sounded more like questioning from the police. I hoped he didn’t get suspicious.
He eyed me again. “The afternoon before she was murdered.”
I couldn’t believe he’d actually answered me.
“What was she doing? What was her mood?” I pressed.
He scowled. “Why are you so interested in what she was doing?”
I knew it wouldn’t be long before he became suspicious of my questioning.
I kept my cool. “I guess you can imagine that women are afraid for their safety. Is there a serial killer on the loose?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess that would upset you. A serial killer? Is that what you think happened?” he asked.
He almost seemed amused, and it seemed as if there was a bit of a grin trying to creep through his expression. Maybe my imagination was running wild, though. At least, I’d given him a satisfactory answer. Now maybe he would continue answering my questions. Caleb and Pierce would definitely disapprove of what I was doing.
“It’s a possibility until the police discover what happened to Erica. What do you think happened?” I placed the ball back in his court.
“A random serial killer is probably what happened,” he said.
Was he just saying that because it was the answer I’d given him?
“What did she say the last time you talked with her? You know, maybe she mentioned having an encounter with someone? A fight?”
“Are you insinuating that April did this?”
He was defensive of April now. Maybe he knew more than he was letting on about their fight.
“I didn’t mean that, but they were arguing over something you did. That has to make you feel bad.”
After I said that, I wished I could take it back. This would only make him mad.
“April would never do anything like that,” he said.
He pushed to his feet. I supposed this meant our conversation was over. For now. I wouldn’t give up on finding more information from him, though. After all that he’d admitted, I felt this could be the lead I was waiting for to find the killer. He tossed his cup in the trash and headed for his car without saying another word.
“Well, at least he didn’t litter,” Ama said.
Yes, at least there was that. Mark got into his car, cranked the engine, and sped away from the curb as I still sat there contemplating all that had happened. Where had I gone wrong with my questioning? Was there something else that I could have asked or done to make this go better? Probably so. After all, I was just an amateur at this. My specialty was painting.
“I suppose we should go now,” I said, reaching down for Van.
He barked in agreement. After I picked him up, we headed down the sidewalk toward my truck. Ama walked along beside us.
CHAPTER 8
Be available to answer customers’ questions. Ghosts can be distracting, but you have to put your foot down and let them know that the customer comes first.
We were back in the truck now. I sat there for a bit, wondering what to do next. Should I quit for the morning or pursue this just a bit more?
“What are you thinking, Celeste?” Ama asked.
“I think I shouldn’t give up on this lead. It seemed so strange the way he acted, and I think he knows much more about this than he’s telling me.”
“Do you think he killed Erica?” Ama asked.
“It’s a possibility.”
She rubbed her arms as if fighting off a cold chill. “It’s scary just thinking about you talking with him. What if he wanted to hurt you?”
“It’s a risk I had to take. The pictures he had of Erica in his car were disturbing. Why did he have so many? Was he obsessed with her?”
“An obsession that turned deadly.” Ama’s words hung in the air.
It was exactly what I’d been thinking. How would I prove it?
I pulled out my phone. “I’m going to do a bit more research on him.”
“It’s lucky you have that device to help,” Ama said.
I scrolled through his Facebook page, hoping for something interesting. I noticed that he wasn’t friends with Erica. She had a page, but they weren’t friends. Had he been friends with her? Once April found out about their affair, had she made him get rid of her? I spotted one man who seemed to comment on Mark’s posts the most. They seemed to be good friends. Perhaps I could speak with him about Mark and find out more. The man’s name was Russell Anderson, and he worked at the local photography store. I supposed they shared an interest in photography.
I pulled up to the photography store and put the truck in PARK. “Well, here we are. I suppose I should go in and see if he’ll speak with me.”
“It can’t hurt, right?” Ama asked.
“I certainly hope not,” I said.
I got out of the truck with Van in my arms and Ama beside me. I hoped the store’s staff didn’t make me leave because of Van. He wouldn’t harm anyt
hing, but I totally understood why they would have a no-pets policy. We stepped inside the store. There were no customers, but I supposed that was because it was so early. A couple of men were working behind the counter.
“Welcome to Photography World,” the dark-haired man said.
I recognized him from the picture on his Facebook page. It was Russell.
He made eye contact with me and came over.
“May I help you?” he asked.
I had no idea about cameras, so I wouldn’t even pretend that was why I was there. What if he told Mark I had been asking about him? It was definitely risky speaking with Mark’s friends. How would I explain my questions? Anxiety gnawed away at me. Russell eyed me expectantly.
“Are you okay, Celeste?” Ama waved her hand in front of my face. “Are you frozen?”
I snapped out of it and asked, “I’m investigating someone you know.”
Apprehension filled my voice, even though I tried to sound confident. If I was going to track down a killer, I needed to build up my self-confidence. No one would want to talk with someone who sounded scared all the time.
His eyes widened. “Who?”
“Mark Patterson,” I said. “You know him, right?”
“Oh, Mark. I knew you were going to say him. Yes, I know him. We’re not that good of friends.”
It seemed like Russell was already trying to distance himself from Mark. Was that because he knew he was guilty of something?
“I need to ask you some questions about Mark. Is that okay?”
What would I do if he said no? I shouldn’t have given him the easy way out. I should have acted as if I would insist on having my questions answered.
“Yeah, I guess it’s okay. What do you want to know about him?” Russell asked.
“Was he dating Erica Miller?” I asked.
His expression turned solemn. “I heard what happened to her. It’s terrible. I hope they find out who did it.”
“That’s why I’m trying to learn more about her,” I said.
“Are you with the police?” he asked.
“Something like that,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think they were dating. He’s been with April for a while now.”
“That’s what I thought, but he told me he was seeing Erica. That they were having an affair,” I said.
He scoffed. “If they were dating, she never let on about it.”
“Did you know Erica too?” I asked.
“We’ve spoken on occasion, but I didn’t know her well. We went to the same gym.”
He didn’t act as if he knew anyone well.
“What did you talk about?” I pressed.
“We’d say hello and stuff. I remember this one time she expressed her displeasure with Mark following her.”
My eyes widened. “He followed her?”
“That’s what she told me. I believe her too. That’s what makes me think he isn’t telling the truth. Maybe he wanted to date Erica.”
“Do you think Mark was following her all the time?” I asked.
“Yes, I think so,” he said.
“What makes you think that?”
“Just from what she said, I guess. I even saw him lurking outside the gym. When I asked him about following her, he said he was meeting Erica there. As if she wanted him to meet her.” Russell picked up a camera and fiddled with it.
If Erica and Mark really were dating, it would be understandable that he would meet her at the gym. Maybe Erica hadn’t told the truth? But why would she lie about something like that? To keep the fact that she was cheating with Mark from her friend April?
“This doesn’t sound good,” Ama said.
“You really can’t trust anything this guy says. I don’t see what April sees in him. She should have dumped him a long time ago. He lies a lot,” Russell said.
“So he tells a lot of lies?” I asked. “Why are you friends with him?”
“I guess I feel sorry for him because he doesn’t have a lot of friends. Besides, they’re all just tall tales, so I figure what’s the harm in listening to the stories he makes up.”
It could be dangerous if it got someone killed.
“Did he say anything to you about what happened to Erica?”
“I mentioned it, and he completely ignored my comment.”
“That is odd.”
He’d said Mark was an odd person, so I shouldn’t be too surprised.
“Do you think he had anything to do with her death?” I asked.
“I’d like to think not, but I guess anything is possible.”
The door opened and a couple of customers walked in. One headed toward the digital section, and the other, a woman, approached the counter. The other employee stepped around to help the man across the room.
“Sorry, but I have to go.” Russell gestured toward the woman with a tilt of his head.
“Sure, I understand. Thanks again for talking with me.”
“You didn’t need camera equipment?” he asked with a confused frown as if he’d just realized I’d never asked for photography assistance.
“No, I’m good. Thanks again.” I hurried out of the shop before he had a chance to ask more questions.
I hopped back into the truck with Van.
Ama sat beside me again. “This is confusing. Why would Mark lie about dating Erica?”
“That’s a good question. I don’t know if we’ll ever figure out the answer,” I said as I made a left.
In the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of a black car behind me. The car stayed with me. Normally, that wouldn’t capture my attention, but this car seemed like it had been making every move I made. Plus, I thought I remembered seeing it at the camera store. Was this person following me? Soon we arrived back at the festival.
I parked the truck behind the trailer and hurried to set out my paintings. I was late, and the directors of the festival wouldn’t be happy if they saw that I didn’t have my paintings out yet. In my defense, they hadn’t warned me that there would be a murder to investigate. I rushed around setting everything up, while Ama and Van watched.
“Good work,” Ama said.
“Thank you,” I said as I blew the bangs out of my eyes.
An odd sensation fell over me. Soon I realized that my neighbor had been stealthily spying on me from behind one of her canvases. I realized that she must have noticed me talking to Ama.
I chuckled, trying to brush off what she’d seen. “I was talking to my dog.”
Van was fast asleep in his little bed. Ugh. The woman quirked an eyebrow.
“I didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep and wasn’t listening.”
She still had a raised eyebrow. Whatever. I didn’t care what she thought of me. I had business to attend to anyway. After a few seconds, she went back to her business. I’d have to be more careful in the future. It was hard to remember that I wasn’t talking to a living person that everyone saw too. Ama seemed so real to me.
Only a couple of minutes had passed when I felt someone watching me again. From my left, I spotted Danny staring at me. That sent a shiver down my spine. What did he want? He was creepy, and his mannerisms were more than a little unsettling. I frowned at him, hoping that he would take a hint. Only he didn’t seem fazed. His eyes pierced right through me. I wasn’t sure what to do next.
“Why is he staring at you?” Ama asked.
“I don’t know,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
I would just act as if I hadn’t noticed his strange behavior, though it was hard to ignore. It wasn’t like I could go up and ask him. Who was this guy anyway? Did he have friends and family? What would they tell me about him?
As I finished up a painting, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Pierce was speaking with Danny. I wished I could overhear the conversation. I watched for a couple of minutes, but nothing about their body language gave me a clue about what they were saying. Danny kept his same uninterested demeanor. Pierce pointed at Dann
y in what I assumed was a warning. What was that all about?
When Pierce stepped away from Danny, I spotted Caleb headed toward Danny’s trailer. Caleb and Pierce eyed each other as Caleb approached, as if they had just stepped into the boxing ring and were sizing each other up before the match. The stare-down lasted a few seconds until Caleb headed over to speak with Danny.
Pierce stood there watching the men talk. It felt as if I needed to step in and stop whatever was going on between the two men. I picked up Van and headed over toward Pierce. He had no idea I was walking up behind him because he was too fixated on Caleb and Danny.
“What’s going on between you two?” I asked once I was standing next to Pierce.
After a couple of seconds, he blinked and snapped out of his trance. “Celeste, I didn’t know you were standing there.”
“Obviously,” I said. “You were really focused on what they’re doing. What’s happening with you guys?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” He tried to act causal.
He knew what I meant.
“I thought you might throw a few punches,” I said.
“No, it isn’t like that.”
I knew they were competitive, but they had ramped it up lately.
Touching Pierce’s arm, I said, “Why don’t you come over to my trailer and have a glass of lemonade?”
He seemed reluctant at first, but he said, “Lemonade sounds good.”
We’d shared a glass of lemonade before while sitting in front of my tiny trailer. That had been at night under the stars. Now was a completely different scenario. Pierce walked toward my trailer with me, but he peered over his shoulder at Caleb several times on the way. I hoped he didn’t sneak back over when I went inside for the lemonade. Caleb was so busy speaking with Danny that he wasn’t even paying attention to Pierce or me.
When we reached the trailer, I said, “I’ll be right back with the lemonade. Why don’t you hold Van?”
Van had a way of calming people down. How could anyone be upset when seeing his sweet face? Pierce took Van in his arms. Van already had a soothing effect on Pierce. I stepped inside and grabbed a couple of plastic cups from the cabinet. My mother and grandmother had taught me to always have a cold beverage ready for unannounced guests. The pale-yellow liquid trickled down over the ice cubes. Too bad I didn’t have fresh lemons to garnish the side of the cup. I picked up the lemonades and headed back outside. Pierce was still standing there with Van in his arms.