Whispering Walls & Murder

by Jenna St James

  “But you don’t know what the falling out was over?” I asked.

  The three girls looked at each other and shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. I was about to get up when another question popped into my head.

  “The house where David was found, you guys know that’s where Tillie lived and now Jax and I are living there, right?”

  The girls all exchanged nervous glances.

  “Did any of you go out to the carriage house to party?” I raised my hand before they could say anything. “And trust me, I won’t be mad or anything. I’m just curious how easy it was to break into.”

  Regan cleared her throat. “I went out there with a group of girls once, but we couldn’t get in. It was so beautiful that we didn’t want to leave, so we just hung out in the back there and quietly partied. Sorry.”

  I laughed. “It’s okay. Like I said, I just wondered how easy it was to get inside the carriage house.”

  “I remember hearing my senior year a couple of the varsity football players and some cheerleaders would always brag about getting in,” Lydia said. “I don’t know if it’s true or not. I didn’t really hang out with that crowd.”

  “I know it’s true,” Josie said quietly. “I actually went once when it was—well, when the famous actress owned it but just left it abandoned. There was about eight or ten of us that night.”

  “This actually helps a lot,” I said. “Thanks for the information.”

  Lydia grinned. “Anytime. You know we love hearing about the latest murder you’re always getting tangled up in.”

  I snorted. “You’re the only ones. Everyone else just gives me the stink eye.”

  The girls all laughed, and I took orders for refills…the whole time pondering what they’d told me with what I knew from today’s episode at the garage. I had a couple questions I still needed answers for.

  At twelve-fifteen Heidi and Bridget rushed through the doors and over to the bar. They placed their drink order with Gramps then chatted excitedly with Mom and Tillie. When Jax strolled in ten minutes later carrying a bag of goodies, I finished my rounds and met them all at a table.

  “Quinoa salad for Tillie,” Jax said, passing the container around the table. “The rest are sandwiches and desserts.”

  Duke ambled over and plopped down next to my chair…no doubt hoping to snatch some crumbs that dropped to the floor.

  I made a grab for a sandwich, unwrapped it, took a bite, then decided to get started. “Gramps and I had an interesting visit out at the Blevins Auto Body Shop this morning.”

  “Do tell,” Heidi said.

  “So my main purpose was to question Logan about David’s death, the last time he saw David, that sort of thing. But when Gramps and I pulled up the gravel driveway to the car garage, something just seemed off. At least that’s what Gramps said. I didn’t really pick up on it until after we got inside.”

  “Off like how?” Jax asked.

  I shrugged. “At first, it was mostly the myriad guard dogs everywhere. Then when we got inside, there were like five or six workers, one car in the bay, and one customer. It just seemed weird to me.”

  “I wondered if you’d pick up on that,” Gramps said from behind the counter.

  “I did. But that wasn’t the craziest part,” I said.

  “Well dish!” Bridget cried. “I can’t take the suspense.”

  Chapter 11

  “Well, for starters,” I said, “it seems David was out at the auto body shop Saturday around four-thirty, and then he was supposed to go to Jayla’s.”

  Jax gasped. “So are you thinking someone at the shop killed David?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “We need to find out from Jayla if David even made it to her house that night. Logan claims he drove the car they were working on to a location in Marin County. Someone picked him up. The dad, Earl, supposedly told Mike that when he, the grandpa, and David all left the shop around six, everything was okay. Earl drove away as David and the grandpa were each getting in their cars.”

  “But that may not be true,” Jax pointed out.

  “You’re right,” I said. “But I don’t really have a motive for Logan’s family to want to hurt David.”

  “Not right now, at least,” Tillie said. “But you never know what we may uncover. Especially if it’s proven something illegal is going on at the shop.”

  “True,” I conceded. “Also, it seems right before graduation, and just before David committed the robbery, Manny and Logan had a major falling out.”

  “But Logan or Manny hasn’t told you why?” Heidi asked.

  “Nope. But it does put a damper on my theory that because Manny and Logan were good friends, Logan would help Manny dispose of the body if they’d killed David.”

  “Unless it was all an act,” Heidi said excitedly.

  “Whaddya mean?” I asked.

  “Maybe Manny and Logan planned all along to kill David to get him out of the picture, but to not put suspicion on either of them, they had a major fight and distanced themselves from each other enough people would remember.”

  I nodded. “I like it! We definitely need to go pay Manny another visit soon.” I took a bite of my sandwich and thought about the guy sitting in the chair at the auto body shop. “Even with all that, the craziest part was the customer just sitting in the waiting room listening to us. Even though he pretended he wasn’t, he was totally into what we were saying.”

  “I have a theory on that.” Gramps held up a hand when I went to interrupt him. “One I want to talk with Mike about first.”

  I huffed. “We have a stake in this just as much as Mike does.”

  Duke snorted and rolled his eyes before dropping his head back down on his paws.

  “Well, we do,” I said lamely. “And before you tell me not to go back out there, Gramps, don’t worry. I have no plans on going out there again anytime soon.”

  “Good.” Gramps added fresh oranges and cherries to the condiments container. “Nothing good is going on out there.”

  “Did Logan tell you if David had been threatened or anything right before he disappeared?” Jax asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope. And I asked. He claims he didn’t know of anyone wanting to hurt David.”

  “I wish we knew how David died,” Mom said. “That might help whittle down suspects.”

  I snorted. “We need suspects. Right now I have Manny for sure…possibly Logan as an accomplice. Oh, I spoke with a couple of the girls from the Young Adult Book Club today, and they filled me in on a lot of gossip. They corroborated the fact Manny and Logan were extremely close their senior year then suddenly had a falling out right before graduation.”

  “What else?” Heidi wondered.

  “These girls range in age from like twenty-five to eighteen. A couple of them admitted they knew kids went out to the carriage house years ago to party since it was basically abandoned. And one of them even went inside once. So that age group, which includes Manny and Logan, had access to the carriage house.”

  “That’s something,” Heidi said. “Could be why they decided to put David in the wall there.”

  “I almost forgot.” I took a sip of my ginger ale. “When Gramps and I were walking up toward the auto body shop, Duke veered off around the side of the shop, so I followed him. I saw a tarp under a stack of tires that looked almost exactly like the tarp that was on top of David’s body in the chest.”

  Gasps went up around the table.

  “And you didn’t think to lead with that huge clue!” Jax exclaimed.

  I laughed. “I guess in the scope of things, it really is a big clue. Sorry.”

  Tillie retrieved a notebook from her satchel. “One more time so I can write it down…Manny’s alibi and Logan’s alibi.”

  “Manny claims he doesn’t really remember what he did that Saturday night around six because it was so long ago. He may have been at a party somewhere in town. His alibi was vague. Logan claims he worked at the body shop with his dad, grandp
a, and David until around five-thirty, and then he drove the car they’d just fixed to the customer in Marin County.”

  “Isn’t that weird?” Heidi asked. “Wouldn’t the customer just go back to the shop to pick up his car?”

  Gramps nodded. “It’s very odd.”

  “But it does leave Logan with a pretty solid alibi,” Tillie said. “Especially if he told Mike the customer’s name and that guy could validate it.”

  I slipped a piece of deli turkey to Duke. “Yeah, I’m afraid of that.”

  “We’re obviously still missing some huge pieces of the puzzle,” Heidi said. “So where to now?”

  “Mom, if you and Tillie can cover for me for about an hour tonight,” I said, “I’d like to go see Jayla for sure. I figure Manny will still be working, so it’s a perfect time.”

  “You bet,” Mom said.

  “Thanks. I also really want to talk with the librarian who worked with David three years ago, but it’s going to be too late by five. I think the library closes around four. I’ll probably do the library thing tomorrow morning before I clock in here.”

  “I can’t go with you tonight,” Jax said. “I told Trevor I’d go with him to pick out paint and bathroom accessories down at the hardware store since he’s able to get into the carriage house now. He’s supposed to work on the plumbing tomorrow.”

  “They released the carriage house?” I squeaked. “When did this happen?”

  Jax chuckled. “Like an hour ago. Officer Landry contacted me and Trevor, mainly because he knows Trevor wants in as soon as possible to start the half bath in the carriage house.”

  “Heidi and I can go with you after work,” Bridget said. “In fact, while we’re out, it might also be a good time to stop at David’s parents’ house and talk with them.”

  “Great idea,” I said. “So we meet back here around five to go question Jayla Lopez and then David’s parents.”

  “I gotta run,” Jax said. “Bakery was fairly busy when I left. Hate leaving just two people to man the shop.”

  “But Rosalee is working out?” I asked.

  Rosalee Martinez was Jax’s latest hire. For years, single mom Rosalee had ran All-Occasion Cakes from her home, but now that her children were grown and had kids of their own, she was ready to slow down and enjoy spending more time with them instead of her business. She’d approached Jax last week with a hiring proposition, and now Rosalee was a part-time employee at Sinfully Sweet Bakery.

  “More than I could have ever dreamed,” Jax said. “I can’t believe my good luck there.”

  “We should probably head out too,” Heidi said. “Jaycee, see you back here at five.”

  Mom and I cleared the table once everyone left, then I did another quick round on the floor. The reading lunch crowd was about to jet, so I wanted to make sure they had their bills.

  A little before three, Gramps came out from behind the bar. “I gotta be at the mayor’s office by three. City council wants to go over my job responsibilities and answer any questions I might have.”

  “Give ‘em hell, dear,” Tillie said primly, kissing Gramps on the cheek.

  “Which reminds me,” I sang out as I ran to where I keep my personal items behind the counter. “I didn’t have time to make it fancy, but I made this for you.”

  Gramps took the picture frame, turned it over, and smiled. “It’s perfect.”

  It was a framed picture of John Wayne with the words, “I’m the stuff men are made of,” printed across the bottom.

  “I thought you might like to put it out on your new desk,” I said. “Jax helped me design it on the computer last night.”

  He leaned over and brushed his rough, chapped lips across my temple. “You stay safe tonight.”

  “Always.”

  The next hour passed quickly…mainly because Mom and Tillie spent the time trying to come up with December’s drink special. By five, they were tipsy.

  “Am I going to be able to leave you two alone?” I joked as I slid onto a barstool next to Tillie.

  Mom grinned and passed me the drink she was working on behind the counter. “What do you think of this?”

  I took a sip and then immediately pulled out the front of my t-shirt and looked down. “I think it’s so strong I sprouted a hair on my chest.”

  Tillie and Mom burst into giggles. It was definitely time to rein them in. “We have plenty of time to figure out December’s drink special. We still need to get through Thanksgiving in two weeks.”

  “Pish,” Mom said.

  “Pish?” Okay, they were officially tipsy. “I’m heading out in a few minutes. You gonna be okay here?”

  “Right as rain,” Mom said.

  I thunked my head down on the bar and groaned. Tillie patted me on my shoulder. “You go on now, honey. We got this covered for you.”

  The front door opened, and I lifted my head in time to see Heidi and Bridget hurry inside, their faces split in matching grins.

  “Ready to get our Nancy Drew on?” Heidi asked.

  I looked over at Mom’s pink, glowing face and smiled. “Sure. Let me get my purse and keys.” I snatched them from behind the counter. “Mom, if you happen to see Jax before I do tonight, will you tell her I need another batch of bourbon truffles and a dozen Irish Kaboom cupcakes?”

  “You got it. Be safe!”

  As I closed the front door of Gone with the Whiskey, Bridget laughed. “Your mom is tipsy.”

  I rolled my eyes but smiled. “I know. She and Tillie worked all afternoon trying to perfect December’s monthly special.”

  “What is it?” Heidi asked as she jumped in the passenger seat of my Rubicon.

  “I have no idea,” I said. “And neither do they.”

  Both girls laughed as I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Manny and Jayla’s house. I’d Googled their address during one of my down times and then plugged it into my app. “Let’s go see what Jayla has to say for herself.”

  Chapter 12

  The Lopez house was located across the old railroad tracks on the east end of town. Most of the single-story dilapidated houses were no more than a thousand square feet and were built so closely together that a side yard was non-existent.

  I slowed the Rubicon down to a crawl when the lady on the app told me my destination was on the right. Pulling to the curb, I shut off the Jeep and unbuckled my belt.

  “I don’t want to go at this confrontational-like,” I said. “I’m hoping Jayla will openly talk with us about David and what she believes happened.”

  Heidi snorted. “Good luck on that. I don’t think she’s going to be too open about anything. Whatever she says could come back on her.”

  “And Manny,” Bridget added, “which in turn leads back to her daughter.”

  I led the way up the broken sidewalk, weaving in and out of the toys scattered about. Beautiful drawings of butterflies and flowers next to kid-chalked scribbles adorned the cement that was still intact. Obviously Mom and daughter liked to draw.

  Knocking on the lackluster front door, I played my opening greeting through my head one last time. When the front door opened, I was taken aback at the disheveled woman who stood defiantly at the door.

  “I know who you are,” she said, “and I have nothing to say to any of you.”

  When she went to shut the door in my face, I finally reacted. “Please, Mrs. Lopez. All we’re asking for is a minute of your time.”

  Tears pooled in her lovely green eyes. “I have nothing to say to you. Any of you. Manny told me you stopped by his work to talk with him already.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “But we’d like to hear from you your take on all that’s happened.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t know what to think.”

  “You’re aware my sister and I are the ones that found David in—”

  “Yes,” she interrupted, swiping at the tear. “I know.”

  Jayla Lopez looked like a good wind would knock her over. Her green eyes wer
e red-rimmed and sunken, with whispers of shadows underneath, and the topknot perched on her head had strands of dark-blonde hair flying every which way. A stained, sage green t-shirt hung loosely over her frame and hit her black yoga pants mid-thigh. Her feet, though bare, sported chipped bubble-gum pink polish.

  “If we could just come in for a second,” I said. “I promise we won’t take up much of your time.”

  “I’m in the middle of getting dinner around for my little girl,” she said.

  “Thanks okay,” I said quickly. “We don’t mind.”

  Just when I was sure she would turn us away, a tiny tot came running and screaming around the corner, making a dash toward us…a black lab close on her heels.

  “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” the little girl chanted. “Barney eat. Barney eat like me.”

  Jayla groaned and lifted the chubby cherub-faced girl up in her arms. “Arianna, how many times have I told you not to feed Barney your dinner?”

  The little girl grinned. “Barney eat!”

  Sighing, Jayla stepped back. “You might as well c’mon in. I’m going to have to make her another hot dog.”

  “Dog! Dog!” The little girl wiggled until her mom set her down. The minute her tiny bare feet hit the floor, she was off like a rocket, her wispy tufts of hair blowing backward.

  Once again we stepped over the toys and followed Jayla through the doorway off the living room and into the kitchen. The little girl and her dog sat on the floor, both of them eating sliced hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. The tray in the abandoned highchair looked like it had been massacred. I prayed it was ketchup.

  “Arianna Ella Marie Lopez,” Jayla said, “get off the floor and up into your highchair this minute!”

  Giggling, the little girl scrambled up onto the highchair, wiggling and grunting to push through the small opening where she’d obviously squeezed down from. With a final grunt, she popped up in the chair, turned around, and sat…grinning proudly.

  As Jayla took out another hot dog from the pot on the stove, I watched in horror and fascination as Arianna picked up a noodle and threw it down to Barney—who managed to snatch it out of the air.