Closer Than She Knows

by Kelly Irvin

“A thump. And then maybe a car door closing.”

  “Closing? Or opening?”

  “Closing.”

  “Did you hear a car leave?”

  “No.”

  “So let’s take a look out front, shall we?”

  “If I can get my gun.”

  “No gun!”

  “This is a stand-your-ground state. If someone is in your yard, you have the right to defend yourself.”

  “This is my yard, my house, my law. No gun.” Teagan held up the Taser in one hand and her cell phone in the other. “These are the only weapons we need. Let’s go, Robin.”

  “Why do you get to be Batman?”

  “Shut up and follow me.”

  Teagan jostled Max aside and took the lead. Tigger passed them both. She stopped at the front door. No growl this time. No soft woof. All-out barking.

  Taser in hand, Teagan eased toward the window to the right of the door. She reached for the lacy curtain.

  Bang, bang, bang.

  She stumbled back and nearly dropped the Taser.

  The urgent pounding ratcheted up. Someone would have bruised knuckles.

  “It’s five forty-five in the morning.” Max’s growl matched Tigger’s. “Who pounds on the door at this hour? Now can I get my gun?”

  Breathe in, one, two, three, four. Breathe out, one, two, three, four. Repeat.

  “Bad guys don’t pound on the door to signal they’re ready to tango.” Teagan peered through the peephole. The fear drained from her body, leaving her muscles weak and her head swimming. “Cole Reynolds.”

  “What does he want at this hour?”

  “I told him we would go running one day.” She laid the Taser in the basket. Max picked it up. “He’s my neighbor. Chill out.”

  “A neighbor you hardly know, pounding on your door at the crack of dawn. This is why you can’t be here alone. You’re too trusting.”

  “He’s a community college instructor who likes to read the classics. He likes Anna Karenina, for crying out loud. He likes dogs.” She turned her back on Max, took a breath, and opened the door. “I can’t go for a run today.”

  Cole stood in the stark light of the porch dressed in shorts and a baggy white T-shirt. Huck whined and nudged his owner’s hand. Cole didn’t seem to notice and he didn’t answer.

  His expression registered. “Cole, what’s wrong?” She glanced around. No obvious signs of a problem. “I’m on lockdown so I can’t—”

  “I figured.” His hoarse voice broke. “I decided to run early because I’m giving finals today.”

  “You’re as white as steamed rice. What is it?”

  He jerked his head toward the yard or the library or the street. Hard to say which.

  “It’s a body,” he whispered, “in your yard.”

  29

  The roaring in Teagan’s ears sounded so familiar. Like the buzz of fluorescent light about to die. “Whose body?” Her feet didn’t want to move. Her arms and hands were frozen. “Did you call 911?”

  “I called.” Cole’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I don’t know who. I haven’t seen her in the neighborhood.”

  Hand on Tigger’s collar, Max pushed forward, forcing the dog to stay on the other side of the door frame. Teagan made room for Max on the tiny porch. “This is my friend Max.”

  Cole took a step back. “Oh, I didn’t know he was here.”

  Somehow the words didn’t ring true. Max’s bike was sitting next to Teagan’s Prius. But it was dark and before the crack of dawn and the guy just found a dead body at the Little Free Library. It didn’t matter.

  A body.

  Her. A female.

  Teagan pushed Tigger back from the door. “Stay, stay.” Tigger whimpered. “I know, sweetie, stay.” She couldn’t be allowed to contaminate the crime scene. Teagan shut the door and turned to Cole. “Did you touch anything?”

  “I checked for a pulse. Was that wrong?” Cole shook his head and gulped in air noisily. “I almost threw up, but I didn’t. And I used Huck’s leash to tie him to the carport post so he wouldn’t get too close and mess something up. I was afraid he would start barking and wake the whole neighborhood, so I brought him with me to your door.”

  He sounded proud of himself. Understandable. English instructors didn’t make a habit of finding bodies.

  “No, that’s fine. You needed to do that.”

  Teagan crossed her arms around her middle. The three of them trudged toward the library. The cool sprigs of grass tickled the soles of her feet. Twigs dug into the tender skin of her arches. A mourning dove cooed. The scent of honeysuckle floated on the breeze. None of it made any sense. How could this morning still be beautiful?

  The woman lay on her back, staring at the sky. She could’ve been stargazing. She wore a shimmery white party frock with a full skirt. So different from the Anne Klein suit she’d worn the last time Teagan had seen her. Spoken to her.

  Her signature gold bangle bracelets were gone. She looked naked without them.

  Teagan’s throat closed. Her legs gave out. She crumpled to the ground on her hands and knees. “No, no, no.”

  Max dropped to his knees and wrapped an arm around Teagan. “I’m so sorry, so sorry.”

  “You know her?” His voice hoarse, Cole’s hands went to his throat. He looked as if he might collapse as well. “She’s not family, is she?”

  “Julie Davidson. Court coordinator. We work together. She was my friend.

  “I checked for a pulse.” Cole ran his hands up and down his bare arms. “There was none, but she was still warm.”

  Julie had taken Teagan under her wing when she arrived at the 177th, a wet-behind-the-ears newbie court reporter, six years ago. She was mother-sister-friend-colleague all wrapped up in a stylish, efficient, organized package.

  Teagan bent over, hands on her stomach, and prayed she wouldn’t hurl. Julie’s perfect makeup had run. Her hazel eyes were wide and perplexed in death. She didn’t look scared but rather perturbed. Julie didn’t like messes.

  Tears blurred Teagan’s vision. Julie would’ve been so peeved at the indignity of it all. Left out in the yard like a sack of fertilizer for all the world to see. “I’m sorry, Julie, I’m so sorry.”

  My fault. My fault. All my fault.

  Julie would no longer sip her Starbucks Venti Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte and thumb through Home and Garden magazine while discussing her latest DIY project.

  No more running her courtroom like a five-star U.S. Army general.

  No more passing around photos of a grandchild while asserting she was the cutest girl on the face of the earth, bar none. No more insisting that she was too young to be a grandmother. Which she was. She married young, had kids young, divorced young.

  And died young.

  Sirens screamed in the distance. They would be here soon. Vomit in the back of her throat, Teagan forced herself to look at Julie’s body. The killer had arranged her with her hands crossed over her heart. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, her feet bare. Her fingernails and toenails were painted a lovely pale pink. Blood had congealed over one, two, three, four visible stab wounds to the chest. Three nails were broken and ragged.

  3Q. State’s Exhibit—Exhibits 90 through 115, what are we

  4basically looking at? What do these images depict?

  5A. The—the photographs are from the front yard of

  6205 Simon St. They show the—the body of the

  7deceased. They show the deceased’s bloodstained

  8clothes, the contusions on her face, broken fingernails.

  9They show her proximity to the property owner’s little

  10library and also the proximity to the front door.

  Julie wouldn’t have gone easily. She had a gun and she knew how to use it. She had taken the same self-defense class as Teagan. Divorced nearly ten years, she lived alone in the Monte Vista neighborhood. She had a state-of-the-art security system. Where had she gone dressed in a party frock? Not a bar hopper, Julie recently had decl
ared herself ready to dive into the dating world. Her choice of weapon had been various dating apps. She would come into work after her date and regale them with tales of her latest fiasco. She gave the men names like Demon David and Henry the Hulk. Big Nose Nathan. Most never made it to a second date.

  Where had she gone tonight? She always met her dates at a public place for coffee the first time, then lunch. If they made it to a third date, dinner.

  No blood beyond that dried on her body and dress. She had been killed elsewhere and deposited on Teagan’s front yard, next to her beloved borrowing library, at her doorstep while she slept. While Tigger slept. While Max slept. Or at least tried to sleep.

  Fierce, eviscerating anger burned through Teagan. Seriously, God, when will this stop? When will You step in and do something?

  She stood. The world tilted back and forth like a crazy, out-of-control seesaw. She sucked in air, trying to calm the rocking. His head down, Max went from a squat to kneeling. No doubt praying for Julie’s safe passage through the pearly gates. A longtime member of a megachurch on the north side, Julie knew Jesus well.

  “Are you okay?” Cole’s fingers touched Teagan’s arm. They were cold and clammy. “Do you need to sit down?”

  Teagan opened her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m okay.”

  “I’m not. I need a belt of scotch. Or two.” He knelt and rubbed his face in his dog’s fur. Finally, he sighed and looked up. “I’m going home. Tell them I’m ready to give a statement whenever they’re ready.”

  “You should stay at the scene.” Max spoke before Teagan could. “You found the body.”

  He might as well have said, You killed her.

  “In Teagan’s yard. You were both up. Both dressed.”

  Teagan glanced down at her T-shirt and sweats. Sort of. “Nobody is accusing anyone of anything. Your house is across the street. I don’t blame you for wanting to go home and regroup while you wait.”

  It didn’t matter what he did. Turn his back and the scene would still be in front of him, no matter how far or fast he ran. Closed his eyes. No matter. The sight of Julie’s body would be burned on the insides of his eyelids for an eternity. What harm could it do to step into his home and close the door for a few minutes?

  Max frowned at her. She scowled back.

  Cole didn’t wait for the standoff to end. He started for the sidewalk. “Do you want me to bring you some hot tea? A shot of whiskey?”

  “No. You go. Max made coffee. At some point, we’ll bring some out.”

  The thought of coffee in her roiling stomach sent bile burning up her esophagus. She fought for a smile but couldn’t manage it. “Give me your number and I’ll text you when they’re headed your way.”

  “Thanks.”

  They exchanged numbers and he trudged away.

  “We only have his word that he found her here.”

  “I know that. But why would the killer arrange Julie’s body here and then knock on our door to share the news?”

  “To throw us off.”

  “Or he could’ve gone to his house and we never would’ve known he was out here. He tried to do the right thing. I’m not jerking him around. Besides, he didn’t have a drop of blood on that white T-shirt or anywhere else. He was clean and neat.”

  “Maybe he changed clothes before he came over.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Maybe not. Your buddy Justin won’t be happy.”

  “Your buddy Justin will have to deal with it.” She tottered to the porch and sat. This must be what it feels like to be a hundred years old and wondering why you’re still on the planet. “I’m calling Dad.”

  “That’s a first.” Max’s gaze stayed on Cole’s back as he trudged across the street and up the sidewalk to his house. “A silver lining maybe?”

  Teagan ignored the observation. Her dad picked up on the first ring. He sounded wide awake. A night owl, he survived on far less sleep than any human being should.

  “Daddy, I need you to come.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Home.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “He killed Julie.”

  An intake of air greeted her tearful words. “I’m on my way.”

  No doubt he would be here in half the time it normally took to drive from north of downtown to south of downtown.

  Siebert was first on the scene from Homicide, followed by Billy, then Justin and Alisha. Billy’s eyes filled with something close to defeat, and he scrubbed at his face with one hand. “We just saw her in your office.”

  “She didn’t deserve this. Her family didn’t deserve this.” Teagan gritted her teeth and concentrated on the feel of Max’s hand around hers. His fingers entwined with hers. “He’s killing with impunity and we’re not any closer to stopping him.”

  “Easy.” Max’s arm slid around Teagan’s shoulder. “Everything that can be done, within the law, is being done.”

  Dad pulled up. Good, she could give her statement once, for everyone, as could Max. Of course, they separated them. Alisha and Siebert took Max’s statement, while Teagan gave hers to Justin. Billy and Dad looked on. Both kept opening their mouths and Justin kept shaking his head, forcing them to stuff a sock in their comments and questions.

  Justin smacked his pen against his notebook. “You let Reynolds go back to his house?”

  “We didn’t let him do anything. I’m not a cop.”

  “So he could wash up, take a shower, change his clothes, and get rid of evidence.”

  “He didn’t need to wash up.” Teagan gave him the same reasoning she’d shared with Max. “He called 911. He came knocking on my door. Why would the killer do that when he could just walk away and we wouldn’t have known the difference? So what evidence?”

  “He reported a crime. He should’ve stayed with the body until police arrived.”

  “You be sure to tell him that when you talk to him. Him, not me.”

  Billy put his hand on Justin’s arm. Dad did the same with Teagan. Before either could speak, the CSU investigator held up the letter she had tugged from Julie’s purse, found under the filmy material of her full skirt.

  Teagan breathed. They were channeling their anger at their impotence at each other instead of the true culprit. The killer. This amounted to a hate-hate relationship. Yes, the letter would tell them something, maybe give them a clue that would lead them to this monster. At the same time, it was another opportunity for him to gloat, to prod, to humiliate.

  Justin requested the letter be laid out flat by the investigator so they could read it before it was bagged and tagged.

  Dear T,

  It’s time to get acquainted with the ballerina. I’ll ask the lovely Leyla for the next dance. You’ll be next. The daughters of a retired SAPD homicide detective gone. Simply gone. My deeds will be plastered across newspapers. My nom de plume on the lips of news anchors. What is it, by the way? I’m sure you can come up with something creative by now.

  Your friend,

  Amos

  No. No. No.

  He was still posing as Amos, brutal psychopath who kidnapped his victims and held on to them so he could terrorize and torture them.

  Leyla. “We have to get Leyla. We need to get Leyla.” Teagan darted across the yard to her Prius. She needed her keys. Her purse. She changed directions.

  Billy caught her with both arms. “Dad’s on the phone with Jazz. Justin is requesting uniformed officers to watch the house until we can get over there. Leyla will never be left alone. We can move her to a safe house if we have to. Or send her to stay with our family in San Diego. I’ll personally escort her. I’m headed there now.”

  “Get to her now. Lights and siren. No stopping at red lights.”

  “I’m on my way.” Billy whirled. His walk turned into a jog.

  Max strode toward Teagan.

  She shook her head.

  He kept coming until he was within arm’s reach. “Billy’s got this.”

  He reached for
her hand. She recoiled. Even he couldn’t help.

  “I can’t stand this. I need to get some air.” Fists clenched, Teagan walked away. Her neighbors congregated on the asphalt. They were scared. They were angry. They felt violated. She knew this because she felt the same way. Their quiet, peaceful neighborhood would never be the same.

  Would Leyla, once she knew who was after her? Would she ever feel safe again?

  Stephanie and Dana stood huddled on the sidewalk in front of Dana’s bungalow. Fighting the urge to hang her head, Teagan joined them. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I just saw her in court last week.” Dana shook her head. Tears trickled down her face. A tough-as-titanium litigator brought to tears at dawn a few yards from her own home. “She was talking about getting a dog. A labradoodle. I told her I thought they were silly dogs. She was offended.”

  “Why does this keep happening here?” Stephanie wiped her face with a sodden tissue. “Paul and I are talking about moving. We’re looking at a subdivision on the northwest side. Gated community with cameras and neighborhood security patrol. Good schools. Low crime.”

  “The police will get this guy, I promise.”

  “That’s what you said when Evelyn died. This woman didn’t even live here. Why is she in your yard?” Stephanie shuddered. “I’ll never be able to use your library again.”

  “They’ll catch him. He’ll be convicted. His life will be over.”

  “Not soon enough.” Stephanie picked Charlotte up from her stroller and hugged her to her chest. “We have kids in this neighborhood. What if one of them had found her?”

  “They didn’t.”

  “What if the next victim is one of our kids?”

  The guy had a thing for women. Stephanie had enough fodder for nightmares. She didn’t need to know this.

  Teagan glanced back at Justin and Alisha. They were on their way to Cole’s door. Teagan excused herself from her neighbors and texted him.

  They’re headed yr way.

  Thanks. Yu ok?

  No.

  Me neither.

  Hang in there.

  Can you come in? It’s the only way I’m letting them in.

  On my way.

  Would some strange friendship grow out of these grim circumstances? It didn’t seem likely. Some day they would pass on the street or see each other at a National Night Out, smile, nod, exchange pleasantries, but they would always remind each other of that day when they waited in the dank predawn air for the cops to show up and bag the body of a too-young-to-die full-of-life woman. There would be no doggie dates among friends who found a dead woman in Teagan’s front yard.