Cornbread and Coffins, page 8
part #3 of Alphabet Soup Mystery Series
“Jess, Jess, Jess.” Rafferty’s deep voice called. “What trouble have you found now?”
“Hey, Raff. This.” I pointed to the plant.
“It’s a plant.”
“Yeah, obviously, but it’s an oleander. The same type of plant that was used to kill Donna Overton.”
“Well, dang, alrighty.” He pulled out his phone to take pictures. “Was there a note or anything?”
“Um,” I started looking around the plant. “I don’t see anything. This is exactly how we found it. We haven’t touched anything.”
“Okay, great.” He took some notes, another picture at a different angle. “Do you have a camera or anything that shows the front door?”
“We don’t.” I looked over at Sawyer. He knew all the neighbors.
“Oh, um,” He looked up and down the street. “This is such a quiet block. The only cameras I know of are on unit 1408, but they are too far down to see our door. Then unit 1506, but again, too far away to see the door. But either one could have picked up someone walking in the area or driving by?”
“Okay, that was 1408 and 1506?”
“Yes. 1415 might have one, too, but they are new, so I haven’t gotten to know them yet.” He pointed.
“Alrighty, I will go talk to them, but first,” he pulled out gloves, dawning them, then leaning forward to take the plant. “I will put this in the trunk.”
“Do you need anything else from us tonight?” I asked.
“Nope, but whoever it is you pissed off; I would recommend you stop.”
“Such a jokester, Raff.”
His face went slack as his smile faded. “I’m serious, Jess. I’ve known you a long time and this might seem like an innocent gesture, but I think it is meant to send a serious message.”
“You’re right. Thank you.” I flashed a weak smile. “I appreciate you coming out.”
“Good night, folks.” He tipped his head to the three of us, then put the plant in his trunk.
We turned to go inside.
“I’m writing oleander plant on the board.” Vee said, running to the office.
“Add the comments from Darcy and Lolly.” Sawyer called after her.
“I will!”
“You okay, friend?” He looked over at me.
“I honestly don’t know. It was just a plant, but … Raff is right. That was meant as a serious message.” I rubbed at one of the scars from my car explosion. A reminder of what happens when I push too far.
“So, are you going to keep investigating this?”
I looked at him, really thinking. The smart part of my brain said no, but my heart had a different thought.
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
“Well, alrighty, I am here for you.” He wrapped one arm around me, hugging me to his side. “I love you, friend.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Ten
I hadn’t found a reason to visit Caruso’s yet, but I discovered they always have staff on hand to take in bodies. That meant if we even knew how to break in, we wouldn’t be able to without risking someone being there.
“What are you thinking so hard about, Chef?” Noah said, coming to my station.
We hadn’t talked much in the past few weeks. It was kept to mostly work stuff. I knew he was still dating April, Colt’s sister, which made me so happy for both of them. They seemed to be a good fit. She was just silly enough to offset Noah’s more serious personality.
It was the slow time of the day at the restaurant and close to shift change. Today, though, we were having a staff meeting where I would announce the winner of the cornbread. I already knew who the winner was, and I was excited to let them all know.
“Oh, just … nothing.”
He studied me, so I tried not to fidget and look guilty. There was no reason to tell him about what I was thinking.
“Um, I don’t believe you.” He lowered his voice. “Does this have anything to do with Donna Overton?”
“I … I don’t know what to say.” I sighed, knowing I was busted.
“Just say I’m right.”
I slowly nodded as my shoulders relaxed. It would be nice to bounce thoughts off of a friend, even if I didn’t want him involved. I had a few things I wanted to run by him but hadn’t bothered to ask yet.
“I knew it. Wait? You were cleared, or we were cleared. So why are you involved?”
“I found her there. It seems so sad that everyone is kind of writing her off because she wasn’t well liked.”
“Yeah, she had a reputation for sure, but I had met her a few times. She seemed sweet and not overly flirtatious, as people claimed.”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m likely not her type,” I chuckled. “But she didn’t seem flirty to me either. She was simply a friendly person.”
“My question stands, though. Why you?”
“Because I can isn’t a good reason, right?”
“Maybe not for some, but I think it is!” He chuckled softly. “Are you using your clue board again?”
“We are. It is slowly filling up, but I think you’re experience could help with a few things.”
“Me? Like what?”
“Accounting stuff. Business.”
“Well, I guess I need to come by and see it.”
“You should. Bring April. I can cook or we can pick something up.”
“That sounds good. When?”
“Maybe tomorrow?”
“Perfect.” He nodded and strolled off.
An hour later, I was standing in front of my staff. The eager faces of the apprentice’s waiting for me to announce who won the cornbread contest and would have their recipe added to our selection.
“Okay, that’s all the business.” I said after going through boilerplate stuff, like schedules, new time off policy, and other things. “Now for the moment you have all been waiting for, the announcement of the cornbread. It was close, very close. Even though I didn’t officially vote, I know if I would have, it would have been an extremely difficult choice.”
I looked over at Shayla, Jacoby, and Brooklynne. They smiled. Shayla blushed, looking down at her shoes. I knew this was important to her, to all of them, but unfortunately, there could only be one winner.
“I won’t draw the wait out any longer. Jacoby, your cornbread is the winner and will now be included, along with Parker’s biscuits, for everyone who orders.”
Cheers and applause as everyone congratulated him. The other two didn’t seem as upset as I expected. They simply shook his hand. Shayla caught my eye, and I could see a few tears. I walked to her side.
“It really was close. You should be very proud.”
“The tears aren’t disappointment. I am proud of myself and of my classmates.” She looked over at the winner, lowering her voice. “Jacoby was ready to quit school. A local drug dealer was heavily recruiting him. The money was tempting. But then you came to the school and gave us all hope. You saved him … and me.” A few tears slid down her face. “Thank you.”
“I am so happy that I could do that for all of you.” As unprofessional as it might be, I gave her a hug. She quietly cried on my shoulder for only a moment before composing herself.
“Thank you, Chef. I better go get prepped for the dinner rush.” She smiled and scurried to the kitchen.
I’m sure, like me, she found comfort in the routine of the kitchen.
I walked over to congratulate Jacoby and then gave Brooklynne some encouraging words.
With the staffing meeting over and everyone either ending their shift or starting, I had nothing left going on, so I headed to the office to grab my stuff.
“Did Noah already leave?” I asked Cullen.
“Yeah, just a minute ago.”
“Okay, great. I’m heading out. Call if you need anything.”
“Great. Night, Chef.” Cullen said.
“Good night.”
I walked through the kitchen, but before I got to the back door, in came Noah. His face was creased with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
“This.” He handed me a paper. “It was on your car.”
“On my car?” I took the paper.
I stepped out so I could look at my new car. Flashbacks of my other car exploding filled my mind, but the parking lot looked normal. Nothing seemed out of place.
“Yeah, I was walking to my car and saw something on yours. Given everything that has gone on in the last few months, I thought I should look. Some kind of threat.”
“Bleep!”
I read it and yeah; it was definitely some kind of threat.
I hope you liked the plant and take it as a warning.
If you keep pulling at the threads of this,
you might not like what you find.
“Wow.”
“You need to call Detective Upton, or at least your friend.”
“Yeah.” I pulled out my phone to call Detective Upton but hesitated a moment. He had told me not to investigate this after I had been cleared of the poisoning, but what was I going to say about this?
I exhaled as I pushed the button to call him.
After a moment, he answered.
“Upton.” He said.
“Hey, Detective. It’s Jessica Vasquez.”
“Oh, yeah, hey, Jess. I am guessing this isn’t a social call.”
“You would be right. Did Rafferty tell you about the plant on my doorstep?”
“He did. Did you get another one?”
“No, this time it is a note on my car.”
I heard him mumble something away from the phone that sounded a lot like son of a something.
“Are you at the restaurant or home?”
“Restaurant.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I hung up and looked over at Noah. He crossed his arms, giving me a look that I couldn’t quite read.
“What’s that look for?”
“I didn’t know you were so much trouble.” He chuckled.
“I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“I’m not wrong though.”
“No,” I hung my head. “You’re not wrong.”
He stepped over, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re a good person, though.”
The hug startled me. He had never been much of a hugger.
“Thanks.” I mumbled. “When did you get so touchy-feely?”
“What can I say? April has changed me.” He ended the hug. “Do you want me to wait with you?”
“He might have questions for you, since you found it.”
“Oh, true.” He snapped his fingers. “We should check the cameras. I’ll go download it.”
He ran in while I waited for the detective. I stood there in the hot sun. This is not how I thought my afternoon would go.
Even though I hadn’t seen anything unusual, I walked around my car, checking the doors, windows, and the tires. All looked fine. Of course, I didn’t know much about cars, so who knows if anything else had been tampered with?
I heard a car, so turned to see Detective Upton pulling in, followed by a patrol car. I recognized the driver as Officer Tommy Roberts. I didn’t know him as well as I knew Officer Rafferty.
“Oh, hey. Thanks for coming.” I handed Upton the note. “Noah found it on my windshield.”
Detective Upton looked around and then down at the note. After he read it, he handed it to Roberts who bagged it.
“Where is Noah?”
Before I could answer, the back door opened, and Noah came trotting out to join us.
“Here is a copy of the video footage, but it is highly disappointing.”
“Why?” Upton asked.
“We had a special delivery, and the delivery truck parked right about … here.” He gestured to the spot in front of my car. “There is a slight shadow but can’t tell if it is related to the note. There is no other activity aside from employees coming or going. None go near her car.”
“Well, thanks, we’ll review it.” He turned towards Roberts. “Why don’t you go see if Dr. Vega’s office got anything on their camera?”
Officer Roberts nodded, then turned to jog across the street.
“Dr. Vega is going to move if this keeps up.” I whispered to Noah.
“For real.” He mumbled.
Upton went to my car and looked it over. He pulled out some kind of bag from his car.
“I’m going to check for prints or any forensic evidence.” He stepped to the car. “I should have brought a team.” He mumbled as he got started.
Noah and I stood against the building, trying to stay in as much shade as possible, while we waited to hear what the verdict was and when we could go. It was a hot day, too hot to be standing in a parking lot, and ours was right on the surface of the sun.
“I’m sweating my b—,” He looked at me. “Well, just a lot.”
I’m not sure when I got the reputation as some prude that can’t hear bad or crude words, but that is what everyone thought. Honestly, though, I was okay with it.
“Yeah, it’s miserable.” I fanned myself with my hand. It did not help.
We watched mostly in silence as Upton worked and after fifteen or so minutes, Officer Roberts came jogging back across the street.
“Nothing great on their camera, either. It is like the person timed everything extremely well to not be seen.” Roberts told the detective. “But I got what I could. We can check the street cameras when we get back to the station.”
“Alright. I just finished up, so we can head back and get this to the lab for processing.” He nodded to me. “I’ll be in touch.”
He turned to go, putting his bag and the evidence he’d collected in the back of his car. He turned to look at me, frowning deeply.
“Jess, I don’t know why this keeps happening, because I already told you to stop looking into Donna Overton’s murder, and you are doing that, right?”
“Um,” I couldn’t quite look at him.
“Stop. Stop today. No more of this, okay?”
His voice was so calm, yet full of authority. I knew he was serious, but I also knew that I had to see this through. Back home, I had a clue board that had the answer on it, and I just needed to put the pieces together.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He took a step forward. It could have been threatening, but it was more like a dad’s move.
Standing in front of me, he looked me right in the eyes. “Say you will stay out of this.”
“Okay.” It was a compromise between what I wanted and what he wanted. I didn’t say the words, so I didn’t lie to him.
“I know that look.” He ran his hand down his face as he sighed. “Fine, I can’t control you, only warn you to stop. But if you do this, you might not be so lucky next time.”
“I know.”
He nodded and climbed into his car, giving me one final look before pulling out of the parking lot. Noah and I looked at each other.
“So, what time should April and I be over for dinner tomorrow?”
“Is six good?”
“That works. See ya tomorrow.”
I watched as he got into his car and drove away. I stood there a moment, thinking about the past hour. Detective Upton was a good guy, but I know he had to protect the people of the town and he’d already saved me a few times before. I would take his words to heart and try to be a lot quieter and careful about who I talked to.
But wait, I hadn’t really talked to anyone yet. Who knew I was looking into stuff? Just Aunt Rita.
I pulled out my phone and hit her number.
“Hey, Jessie!”
“Hey, Aunt Rita.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Um, yeah, but I had a quick question.” I paused. I hated asking her this question, but I had to know. “Did you tell anyone that I was looking into Donna’s murder?”
“Oh, um, just our bible study group. On Sunday before you kids got there.”
Bleep!
“Okay, thanks.”
“Is something wrong?” She asked.
“No, I just wanted to know.”
“You would tell me if I caused you trouble, right?”
“Of course. Everything is fine.”
“Okay, good. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I lied, so she didn’t feel bad about the threats. At least now, though, I knew it was one of the ladies in that group.
Chapter Eleven
“Well, that was a nice visit. Your father really enjoyed seeing you, Jessie.” Granny Ines said.
We had just left Milton County Prison where my father was spending his life sentence. I had been dreading this day since I agreed to it during Sunday dinner.
“Yeah, it was nice. He looked good.” Better than last time I saw him, in a hospital bed, after being attacked by a fellow prisoner.
“What do you have planned for the rest of your day?” She asked.
“Oh, not much. I’m going to cook dinner and a group of friends are coming over.”
“That sounds fun. We’re having an early dinner with our bible study group. Joyce is hosting at her house.”
I nodded. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her who was going to be there. Would it be the same women from Sunday? But I knew the answer without asking. It would be. Several of them were on my suspect list, but as I didn’t know all the ladies, I wanted to ask questions.
I also didn’t want granny to know about my investigating. She wouldn’t like it at all, but if Aunt Rita had already told the group what I was doing, maybe granny knew as well.
“Did any of the ladies say anything last time about Donna?”
“What do you mean, Mija? If they had a grudge big enough to kill her?” Her tone had me regretting the question.
“Yeah.” I mumbled, embarrassed that I was even considering any of those sweet church ladies as suspects. Why would any of them kill someone?
“None of them would kill a fly. They are good Christian ladies. They go to church, do bible study, give their time to charities and others. None would kill someone over something so silly as a man.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” She looked out of the window. “Isn’t Milton County so beautiful in the early fall?”
