A.L. Jambor - Where's Audrey? (10 page)

She rode around until she found an empty spot near Target and parked. She hoped Lisa would call her back soon and left her phone on.

As Mel shopped at Target, Conner was sitting in the Clearwater Police Department reading the case file for Jason Frye Sr. The detective had concluded that the death was an accident and the case was closed. Conner was disappointed. He’d hoped they had looked into Jason Jr.

When he got back to his car, he looked at his computer and found a message. The dispatcher was asking for an officer to go to Holiday Oaks mobile home park to respond to a 911 call from a resident. He saw that another officer had responded, but he wanted to see what was going on and headed that way.

He saw the patrol car sitting in front of Jason Jr.’s home and parked behind it. He walked to the door and was about to knock when he saw Ben Kiernan, another deputy, coming around from the back of the home.

“Hey,” Conner said.

Ben nodded. “Maurice is dead.”

“What?” Conner asked.

“Maurice, the dog, is dead. He was buried behind this place. A neighbor called it in.”

“When did this happen?”

“Right after you spoke to the woman across the street.”

“When?” Conner asked.

“Today,” Ben said.

“I didn’t talk to her today.”

“Oh, I thought you were the one who took the report. The lady across the street called in a dognapping. Then this guy,” the deputy pointed at the old man’s house with his thumb, “called in and said he thought Maurice was dead. Well, he was right.”

“Someone killed the dog.”

“That’s what it looks like.”

The Mercury wasn’t parked in the driveway. “This guy did it.”

“You know who lives here?” the deputy asked.

“Yup. I was here two days ago.”

“I called animal control. They’re gonna pick Maurice up and find the cause of death. If he killed the dog, we may be looking at animal cruelty.”

“Why would he kill the dog?” Conner asked.

“Who knows? Some whack job who doesn’t like animals. Or he had it in for the lady across the street.”

The deputy left Conner and went back to his cruiser. Conner walked around to the back of the house and looked at Maurice. The dog was covered in dirt. There was no way to tell what he had been doing before he met his demise.

Conner walked around the house and looked at the ground. Maybe the dog was digging and Jason caught him. Conner didn’t see any signs of digging on the left side of the home. He went to the front. There was a planter made of stacked stones cemented in place. It went the length of the front of the house. Conner looked at the stones. Toward the middle, he saw white marks on one of the stones. They looked like scratch marks.

Conner went to the shed. He took the same trowel that Mel had used and came back to the front of the house. He began to dig the dirt out of the planter. He dug all the way to the bottom and didn’t find anything. If a body had been buried there, he would have found it.

He moved the dirt around to cover the hole. He didn’t want Jason to know what he had seen. He put the trowel back. His hands were muddy. He tried turning on the sink in the shed, but it was dry.

He went back to his cruiser and took out a container of wipes from the glove box. He cleaned his hands as best he could. He was frustrated. The dog had been killed, but why? It had known something. It had smelled something, but the planter was empty. It was time to talk to his supervisor about investigating Jason Frye Jr.

Chapter 13

Mark Allen, Conner’s supervisor, sat behind a big, gray metal desk. Files filled one side. He kept rubbing his face. Conner was pressing him hard for a warrant, and Mark was trying to find some way to dissuade him. There just wasn’t enough proof that Jason had hurt a human being.

“He killed a dog; that’s probable cause,” Conner said.

“It’s animal cruelty, not murder.”

“But the lady is missing, and the dog knew something.”

“Conner, I admire your tenacity, but you don’t have a case here.”

“The kid forged her name on the title to her home.”

“So, we charge him with forgery. But we can’t, because you didn’t have a warrant.”

Conner was fuming. He knew Jason Jr. had done something to Audrey Glenn. But there was no body or proof that a murder had taken place.

“There is something you could check on,” Mark said. “He’s gonna be charged with animal cruelty. Talk to the state attorney about subpoenaing his bank records.”

Conner smiled. “To check his income.”

“If he offed the old lady, he probably didn’t tell Social Security.”

“And that would involve the feds.”

“At least you’d have probable cause to investigate. He’d have to produce Audrey Glenn.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to the state attorney.”

Conner would have to wait until Jason was charged before talking to them. Then he’d have to wait until he found out who’d been assigned the case. Animal Cruelty was a third-degree felony, but Jason might only be fined and given probation, not jailed. Conner wanted to pin his ass to the wall.

He got into his cruiser. He was assigned to patrol Clearwater and so far, he’d spent most of his time investigating Audrey’s disappearance. He had to spend some time on the road.

His phone rang. It was Mel.

“Hey,” he said.

“Did you get a call about Maurice?”

“Yeah. How did you know about that?”

“I found him. I had the old guy next door call you.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

“I was afraid I’d get arrested for trespassing.”

Conner laughed. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Did Jason do it?” she asked.

“I’m sure he did, but animal control has to find out what killed him.”

“Did anyone tell Marge?”

Shit, Conner thought. “I don’t know. I didn’t see Ben go to her house. Maybe he figured I’d go and tell her.”

“Can we go talk to Marge?”

“Do you really think she’ll want to talk?”

“I would if someone killed my dog. I’d want to tell the world who did it.”

“Would she think it was Jason?”

She was quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t know. I guess I would because of what we know about him.”

“We don’t know enough about him,” Conner said. “What did Joe say last night? Something about Jason delivering water. I wonder where he worked.”

“How many water companies are there that deliver water here?”

“Not many. Shouldn’t be too hard to find. But I really have to work today. I’m supposed to be in Clearwater.”

“I can go see Marge alone.”

“You’ve got to ask her how Maurice got out alone.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“If she knows of anyone who would want to hurt Maurice.”

“I can do that. Are you off later on?”

“At seven. Do you want to meet for dinner?”

Her heart began to beat faster. She’d love to, but she hadn’t seen Lisa yet. “I was going to my friend’s place today. I’ll probably go out with her later.”

“Oh.” Was that disappointment she heard? “Well, I’ll call you if I learn anything.”

“Thanks, Conner.”

After she hung up the phone, she fought the urge to call him back and say she would see him for dinner. She really had to visit Lisa. She went to her car and drove back to the park. The Mercury was there. She wondered why the cops hadn’t come to arrest him.

She walked up the driveway of Marge’s home and knocked on the side door. Sharon answered.

“May I speak to Marge?” Mel asked.

“Sure, honey, come in.”

“I need to tell you something,” Mel said softly. “They found Maurice’s body buried across the street.”

Sharon’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

“Who would do that?” she whispered.

“It’s being investigated. I just wanted to ask Marge if she knew of anyone who would want to hurt him.”

“We have to tell her. Oh, she’ll fall apart.”

“Maybe if we do it together it won’t be so bad.”

Sharon went to the living room and Mel followed. Marge was sitting in a recliner. She looked at Mel and narrowed her eyes.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

“I was here the other day. I’m Audrey’s niece.”

“That’s right. I remember.”

“Marge,” Sharon said. “We have something to tell you.”

Marge moved the handle on the recliner and put her feet down.

“Marge, they found Maurice.”

“Where is he?” Marge asked.

“He’s dead, Marge,” Sharon said.

Marge’s face drained of color. She began to shake. “Oh, my God.”

“The police are looking into it,” Mel said. “Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt him?”

“Of course not,” Marge said. “Why would anyone want to hurt…oh, Maurice.”

Marge began to cry. Sharon went to her and put her arm around Marge’s shoulders.

“He was found behind Audrey’s home,” Mel said.

Now Marge looked angry. “That son of a bitch.”

“Who, Marge?” Sharon asked.

“That kid that lives there. He was always yelling at me to shut Maurice up. He hated Maurice.”

“Marge,” Mel said, “how did Maurice get out of the house?”

Marge started crying again. “It was my fault. I must have left the sliding door open when I went to the bathroom. He would have been able to slip through the rail and jump down.”

“When was the last time you saw Maurice?” Mel asked.

“This morning. We were up early. It was still dark. Oh, Maurice.”

“I’m sorry,” Sharon said. She turned to Mel. “I think you should go now.”

Mel nodded. “Thank you, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Mel left the home and walked down the driveway to her car. Jason was standing across the street with a cigarette in his hand. He looked at her and she felt a chill run up her spine. He kept staring as she got into the car. He was still staring when she drove away.

Chapter 14

The radio played nothing but Christmas songs. Mel wished she could plug her phone into the radio so she could listen to her own music, but the economy model only came with a radio and CD player. Who listened to CD’s anymore?

The Christmas decorations were getting to her. Everywhere she went there was some reminder of the season. Mel’s Christmases hadn’t been very uplifting. They were usually spent with her grandmother, who tried to make up for Linda’s neglect.

Mel thought about her mother as she drove to Clearwater Beach. She hadn’t heard from her in over a year. Laura tried to make light of it by saying Linda was busy, that her job took up all of her time, but Mel knew the truth. Linda just didn’t care.

She turned off the causeway and onto the road leading to Lisa’s condo. When she got there, she found a spot nearby and parked. It had a meter. She would have to see if there was a place to park that came with the condo. She dialed her number. This time, Lisa picked up.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“I’m outside the condo.”

“I’ll be right down.”

Lisa was in a bathing suit. She smiled when she saw Mel.

“Damn, how long has it been?” Lisa asked.

“At least a year.”

“Well, you look good.” Lisa noticed the parking meter. “You can park under the condo.”

Lisa pointed to a driveway leading under the building.

“Aren’t you using it?” Mel said.

“There are two spots for each unit.”

They got into Mel’s car and Lisa showed her where the parking spots were, then took Mel up to the condo. It was on the second floor of a four-unit building. Two condos were on top, and two were on the bottom.

“Dad couldn’t come this year,” Lisa said.

“Doesn’t he mind you missing Christmas?” Mel asked.

“He’s in Barcelona. He won’t be back until after the new year.”

Lisa’s mom had passed away two years before from breast cancer. Lisa wouldn’t talk about her mother to anyone but Mel.

“So,” Lisa asked, “how long are you here for?”

“I’m supposed to leave tomorrow, but I still don’t know what happened to my aunt.”

“Did you talk to the cops?”

“There’s this cop who has been helping me, kind of on the sly. Not officially.”

“Is he young?” Lisa asked with a smile.

“He is. He’s cute, too.”

“Really? What’s his name?”

“Conner O’Keefe.”

“Conner is a nice name.”

Sandy walked in. She was a friend of Lisa’s from work. She had her suitcase in her hand.

“Sandy, this is Mel.”

“Hi,” Sandy said. “My taxi should be here soon.”

“Sandy has to go home for Christmas,” Lisa said. Sandy didn’t look happy about it.

“I wish I didn’t have to go at all,” Sandy said. “The whole family is going to be there. All the of them. It’s gonna be a nightmare.”

Mel wished she could have such a nightmare. “Sorry.”

“She’ll get over it,” Lisa said. “Anyway, do you have your bathing suit?”

“Yeah. I got one at Target.”

Mel pulled the two-piece suit out of her bag.

“Did you steal it?” Lisa asked.

“NO! I put it in there after I paid for it.”

“Good. I didn’t want to have to bail you out of jail.”

They heard a horn beep and Sandy picked up her bag.

“Well, it’s nice meeting you,” she said to Mel, then turned to Lisa. “I’ll call you when I get home.”