They approached the alley as they finished their hamburgers, tossing their garbage into a nearby garbage container.
“I think Jill’s batty enough to kill,” Monique replied.
“But would she?” Coleen asked with a curious stare. “She’s put the fear of a curse into a lot of people. Someone may have killed Roseanne out of fear.”
“True,” Monique replied.
They walked down the alley and saw a car near the gates to a ground floor apartment. They approached the black station wagon with its back door opened and several boxes piled within it. Both casually peered inside one of the boxes and noticed some medical books. They heard sound from the back gate to the apartment. Dr. Talbert approached them while carrying a box filled with personal items possibly belonging to Roseanne.
“Afternoon, girls,” he said with a pleasant smile.
“Whatcha doing, Dr. Talbert?” Coleen asked while glancing at the box with a curious look.
He appeared saddened then sighed. “Putting Roseanne’s belongings into storage until her sister can get here to sort through them,” he informed her. “Her sister didn’t want to pay an extra month’s rent on the apartment, and the landlord isn’t very understanding.”
“Wants to rent it out right away, huh?” Monique asked with a raised brow.
Dr. Talbert snorted a laugh and placed the box in the back of the station wagon. “Something like that, I suppose.” He leaned on the side of the car and eyed them. “How’d you two like to make ten dollars each?”
They looked at each other and then at Dr. Talbert. “We could use money for fair games,” Monique replied. “What do you need?”
“There’s at least twenty more boxes inside the apartment and I need to drop these off at my garage,” he informed them. “I’ll never get them all loaded myself before my next appointment. I didn’t anticipate it taking this long.” He studied both girls. “If you could seal some boxes and pack the rest of her books while I drop off these, I’d be grateful.”
“We can do that,” Coleen chirped happily.
Monique smiled slyly. “Yeah, we’d be happy to help.”
“Great. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” he said. “I have to get my appointments finished early. I have a party to go to at the institution.”
“Oh, Jacey’s going there tonight too,” Coleen said.
“And several very prominent people,” Dr. Talbert added.
“Yeah, naturally we were invited, but we’d have to wear dresses,” Monique replied while making a face.
“Oh, the horror,” Dr. Talbert teased then grinned. “It’s an important evening for me. I want to open a clinic in the next county. Support from some of the attendees would be a great help.”
“We’ll have everything packed before you return,” Monique assured him and rocked on the balls of her feet while grinning.
They watched him drive away then hurried into the apartment with a mischievous agenda. The apartment was mostly cleared and more than twenty boxes were piled throughout the kitchen. The girls poked and sifted through the open boxes.
“What are we looking for?” Coleen asked.
“Anything that could point to her killer,” Monique informed her while poking through her own box. “We’d be in luck if she’d kept a diary or something.”
Coleen laughed softly. “That doesn’t happen in real life--just in the mystery novels. Besides, wouldn’t the police have confiscated anything of real use?”
“Don’t ruin my fun,” Monique remarked while opening a fancy little bag that resembled a clutch purse. She looked quizzically inside then suddenly gasped and tossed the bag to the floor. “Oh, shit!”
Coleen saw the horrified look on her friend’s face then eyed the bag lying on the floor. “What is it?” she suddenly cried out. “Is it a severed finger?”
Monique remained frozen and shook her head. Her eyes remained wide and fixated on the bag. “I think,” she gasped, “I think it was a man’s--you know.”
Coleen was now shocked. “It’s a severed penis?”
“I think so!”
Both stared at the bag a moment and appeared uncertain what to do. Coleen removed a spatula from her box, bravely took a step closer to the bag, and slowly opened it with the spatula. She suddenly gasped then hesitated and stared a moment longer. She uncertainly tilted her head and poked inside the bag.
“It’s fake,” Coleen informed her friend then straightened.
Both made faces and exchanged looks.
“Who’d want something like that?” Monique suddenly asked.
“I don’t know,” Coleen replied while shaking her head. “Seems a little twisted to me.”
Monique cringed and carefully picked up the bag with the tips of her fingers and dropped it into the box. She appeared sickened and shut the box.
“We’ll ask Jacey about it later,” Monique replied then looked at her friend with all seriousness. “We better be careful. There’s no telling what other gross things we might find.”
Coleen nodded with the same concerned look. After ten minutes of useless searching through boxes, they entered the living room and frantically packed books from the bookcase into an empty box. The bookcase was all that needed to be packed. As Coleen removed the last book, an envelope slipped out and fell to the floor. She picked it up and appeared curious. Monique saw her with the envelope and approached.
“What is it?” Monique asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s sealed, but there’s no address on it,” Coleen replied.
Monique removed the envelope from her and held it to the light from the window. Coleen glanced at the front cover of the book she held.
“Sins of a Nurse,” Coleen said then giggled. “I wonder if it’s a dirty love letter.”
“We’re about to find out,” Monique remarked and opened it. She removed the copied note in cutout newspaper letters. Monique read, “I know what you did. If you don’t want the police to find out, place ten thousand dollars in a brown paper bag in the barrel of the cannon Friday at midnight.”
Both girls looked at each other. Coleen flipped through the book. In the very center of the book, there were three instant photos and a small drawing on a scrap piece of paper. It looked like a drawing of the institution. Both studied it carefully.
“It’s the institution,” Monique announced.
Coleen squinted. “How can you tell?”
“All the rooms are setup like at the institution,” she announced. “Where else in this town is there a building with that many rooms?”
“If it is, it’s just the main building. But according to this, there’s another room somewhere in the basement,” Coleen replied. “We were never shown the basement.”
“Maybe they’re hiding something.”
Coleen glared at Monique. “Who? Professor? You can’t be serious.”
“You never know,” Monique announced with distrust. “I think we should investigate the basement.”
Coleen’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding?”
“No, I’m always serious,” Monique replied simply. She then studied the photos of a hospital surgical room. “Wonder what these have to do with anything?”
“Probably just photos she stuck in the book,” Coleen said and carelessly tossed them into the box on top of the books.
A car was heard just outside the apartment. Monique stuck the envelope and paper into her back pocket. Dr. Talbert walked into the apartment and approached them in the living room while wearing a pleased smile.
“Looks like you girls have been busy,” he announced and eyed the box containing books. “You can take the lighter ones. I’ll take the heavier ones.”
Coleen attempted to lift the box containing the books and immediately groaned. Dr. Talbert chuckled and easily picked up the box.
“There are lighter ones in the kitchen,” he announced then left with the box of books.
Both girls entered the kitchen and searched for lighter boxes to carry.
&
nbsp; “Maybe we should’ve kept those photos,” Monique remarked while appearing deep in thought. “They might mean something.”
“We can still pull them out,” Coleen announced.
Monique nodded. Each girl grabbed a box and hurried out after Dr. Talbert. Dr. Talbert shoved the box of books toward the front of the cargo area and headed back into the house for more. Monique crawled into the back of the station wagon, placed their boxes next to the box of books, and grabbed the photos. She closed the box’s flaps then crawled back out. She grinned, pleased with herself.
“Got them.”
She placed them in her other back pocket then returned to the apartment with Coleen.
†
Shelly walked down the back stairs into the press with Jacey in tow. Jacey couldn’t believe how many beautiful dresses Shelly owned and not one would keep her breasts contained. She didn’t realize either how small Shelly’s bust was or how big her own breasts really were. Either way, it was disheartening. She still had nothing to wear for the party. She didn’t feel things could get any worse. As they crossed the press, Jacey saw Brenda casually leaning on the front desk while scanning a paper in her hand. Jacey suddenly frowned. She was wrong; things just got worse. Brenda saw them approaching and immediately grinned deviously. Oddly enough, Shelly frowned in unison with Jacey. It was becoming obvious that Shelly no longer cared for her lead reporter either.
“I have that article for you,” Brenda announced cheerfully to Shelly while seductively waving the paper.
Shelly smirked and took the paper from her. She set it down without even reading it. “I’m sure it’s great.”
“Naturally,” Brenda remarked while casting a glance at Jacey. “I had a front row seat for the unveiling of Roseanne’s murder.” Her eyes swept over Jacey and almost mocked her. “Where were you when the second biggest story in this town broke?”
She glared at Brenda, held back her comment, and then looked at Shelly. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Jacey walked across the press and headed out the front door. She stepped onto the porch with a depressed sigh and looked around the now congested streets. Monique and Coleen were nowhere to be found. She looked at her watch and frowned. It was nearly one o’clock. She walked across the street to the general store. All five women from Jill’s group stood outside the store and leered at something with great interest. Their mouths were in motion, though Jacey wasn’t close enough to hear about what they were gossiping. She was sure she didn’t care either. She looked toward the police station down the street, where their attention seemed to be focused, and saw Asher just outside Town Hall. Asher almost never came to town. Something must have happened! She was suddenly concerned and hurried along the sidewalk toward the building. At the same time, the five gossiping women approached through the crowd and the rows of vendors. Asher walked down the steps of the building while being escorted by Sheriff Monroe. The chatter could be heard from more than just Jill’s group. Asher paused on the bottom step of the building near the sidewalk and observed the small crowd.
“My adoring public,” he announced with a mocking smile and gave his best royal queen wave above his head.
“Okay, break it up,” Monroe announced firmly while walking down the last step and forced the crowd to disperse.
Asher walked behind Monroe and paused when he saw Jacey. A slight smile crossed his face. He raised his finger to his brow and gave her a tiny, secret wave then continued toward the police car. Jacey ran for him. Monroe turned and put his hand up for her to stay back. Jacey instinctively stopped.
“It’s okay,” Asher said softly to Monroe. He then turned toward her, smiled, and casually looked around the crowd that still remained present but from farther away. “Everything’s okay,” he said softly so no one would hear. “I’ll call you when I get home.”
Asher attempted to turn toward the police car when Jacey grabbed his arm. Locals were heard gasping. He turned to face her with some surprise.
“I don’t care if everyone knows we’re friends,” Jacey said firmly. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”
Asher shifted uncomfortably, looked around at the people staring at them while whispering, and then looked back at Jacey. “Someone broke into my house. I came home and found the glass on the sunroom door broken. Nothing seemed to be missing, but I thought I should report it anyway.”
“Why the escort?” she asked with some concern.
Asher nodded toward Monroe, who now yelled at the collection of people. “He feared I might be mobbed. These people think I’ve killed Roseanne. It’s as if we’re living in the Dark Ages all over again. I’m surprised they aren’t carrying torches and pitchforks.”
Jacey wondered why someone would break into Asher’s home. Most people in town feared him too much to even drive past his house, let alone attempt to enter it. She wondered if there was a more sinister reason. She was almost convinced someone was attempting to frame him.
“Maybe you should keep watch for things added to your house rather than things removed,” she said softly under her breath.
Asher’s head cocked slightly and his brows raised. “You are a clever girl,” he said with an odd smile across his face. His look told her he’d already thought of that. “I’ll call you later to discuss when I should pick you up.”
Jacey suddenly frowned. “At the last minute,” she pouted. “I still don’t have anything to wear. I’ll probably have to wear one of my mother’s flapper dresses.”
Asher stared at her a moment then smiled warmly. “Come to my house. I think you’ll like what I have for you.”
Jacey nodded with some confusion. “Okay. I’ll stop by when Professor comes out to ride with the girls.”
Asher smiled warmly at her then walked with Monroe to his awaiting police cruiser. Derek Falcone suddenly appeared alongside Jacey, startling her. His stare was creepy.
“Interesting company you’ve been keeping,” he announced sternly. “Better watch yourself. Some men kill the women they love.”
She gave him a quick once over, not about to be intimidated by a short-order cook. “Is that a threat or a confession?” Jacey asked while casually tilting her head. She wondered why she couldn’t have been as confrontational with Brenda.
“You think you know that man?” Derek demanded. “You don’t know anything about him. No one does.”
“Go away,” she scoffed and turned to leave.
Derek suddenly grabbed her arm, startling her. She glared at him with surprise. His look was mildly psychotic. “You’re going to regret knowing him.”
She attempted to pull her arm free, but he wouldn’t release it while staring into her eyes. His wrist was suddenly grabbed and his arm was twisted behind his back. Asher slammed Derek over the hood of a nearby car with a loud crack, causing the crowd of mostly locals to gasp. Asher leaned over Derek where he held him pinned face first over the car hood and spoke low in his ear.
“Fucking touch her again, and I’ll--”
“Asher,” Jacey scolded softly.
Asher didn’t move or take his eyes off Derek only inches from his face. He suddenly sneered, released him, and took a step back. Everyone was staring at him. Asher briefly glanced at the crowd and smiled deviously.
“Is everyone happy now?” he casually announced while making eye contact with several people, including Jill.
The locals immediately scattered, including Jill and her followers. Derek cast a glare at Asher then hurried along the blocked off street. Asher frowned and looked at Jacey, who stared at him with a disapproving glare.
“Please don’t look at me like that, my dear,” he replied while offering a tiny smile. “Once a wolf; always a wolf.”
Sheriff Monroe stood several feet away, glared at Asher, and folded his arms across his chest. Asher glanced back at Monroe then looked at Jacey.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Asher announced. “I should go while he’s still asking nicely.” He appeared oddly timid. “A
re we still on for tonight?”
Jacey groaned softly and shook her head. “Of course,” she replied with defeat in her voice. “Go on; go home.”
Asher smiled at her then joined Monroe near the police cruiser. She watched him climb into the passenger side of the police car. Monroe drove him along the busy, blocked streets to the area outside town where Asher must’ve parked. Jacey stared a moment longer and smiled secretly to herself. It must’ve been one hell of a sight. She wished she could’ve seen him parade along the street in his usual arrogant manner, giving the hens something to cluck about. Jill hadn’t seen Asher in years, so it must’ve been a real treat for her. Monique and Coleen hurried through the crowd from the direction of the cannon in the center of town and ran for Jacey.
“Did we miss something?” Monique quickly asked.
“What’s everyone staring at?” Coleen chirped.
Chapter Twenty
Jacey followed Asher along the hallway in his house and into his bedroom. It was after 2:00 P.M., and she had left Monique and Coleen in Professor’s hands for their afternoon ride. As he approached the closet, she stopped within the doorway and looked around. She’d never actually been in his bedroom before. It was decorated tastefully with antique furniture made of rich wood and surprisingly colorful material in varying shades of burgundy and gold. The room’s close resemblance to a castle chamber was startling. Asher removed a dress and turned to face her. She stared at the expensive, elegant black evening dress Asher held proudly while grinning. Jacey met his smile and appeared astonished. The dress must have cost a fortune. She suddenly felt subconscious.
“Are you sure you don’t mind if I borrow it?” Jacey asked timidly.
“Mind?” Asher chuckled softly in his throat. “I want you to wear it. It was Katie’s favorite dress.” He smiled with some embarrassment. “Well, perhaps it was my favorite dress, and she just wore it to appease me. You’d better try it on. We haven’t long before we should be leaving for the party.”
Jacey nodded, took the dress, and watched as Asher quietly slipped from the bedroom. She changed into the dress and looked at herself in the full-length mirror. It fit almost perfectly. It was an off the shoulder evening gown with a revealing neckline and a back that plunged daringly low. There was a slit up the left side that nearly reached the top of her thigh. It was extravagant and sexy to say the least. She could see why Asher loved when Katie wore it. She pulled her auburn hair from her shoulders and wondered how it would look pinned up for a formal occasion. Her eyes then strayed to a photo on the dresser in the far corner of the room. It was of Katie in the same evening dress Jacey wore. She approached the photo and studied it a long moment. She’d never realized it, but there was a resemblance between her and Katie, although Katie was a true redhead. She lifted the picture and stared at it. There was a soft tap on the door. Jacey replaced the picture and turned toward the door.
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