Down the Drain, page 5
The door opened and someone stepped out. I couldn’t make out their features too well, but I caught the brilliant flash of a smile. “That was quick,” they said. “It hasn’t even been half an hour since I requested an appointment. I didn’t expect that kind of response.” They paused. “Wait, you are the handy person, right?”
I laughed and took a step forward. “I am. Lou Carsley, Jax of All Trade. What’s the problem? A burst pipe, was it?”
“That’s right. I got the water turned off, but that’s as far as my knowledge extends.”
Now that I was closer, I could make out more of their features. Straight dark hair, I couldn’t tell if it was truly black or not, but it was close, hung down past their shoulders. Deep-set dark brown eyes watched me steadily, but another flash of smile showed against bronzed skin.
“That’s why I’m here.” I stepped past them. I could see the large pool of water on the floor in front of the sink. A mop lay next to it, though it didn’t look like that put a dent in the puddle. “Do you know how this happened?” It was only a couple steps from the round wooden table to the sink, with the refrigerator and stove on either side of that. And a separate counter along one other wall.
“Not a clue,” they said cheerfully. “I was in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs, deciding what to do with it. Came down here to grab some food while I thought about it, and I saw this puddle. Thankfully, I’d asked the realtor where the emergency stuff was, water and electric. So, I shut off the water before calling you.”
“That was a smart thing to do. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who don’t know that even after living in a place for several years.”
“I’ve lived on my own since I was sixteen. I learned a long time ago to count on myself.”
I nearly banged my head on the cabinet I was sliding into. Sixteen? I opened my mouth, almost blurting, “What about your family?” I’d met enough people to know not every family was like mine. They liked to be all up in my business, but I knew they’d be there when I needed them, too.
“Anyway,” they continued. “I remembered the card my friend gave me when I moved in last weekend. I called the number on the card and got your service. I wasn’t expecting a response until morning.”
“If it comes in as an emergency, I try to get out as soon as possible.” I shone the beam from my flashlight into the darkness under the sink. “Your pipes have seen better days. You may want to get a plumber out here to redo this, or you’ll run into this problem again. I can give you some numbers.”
“I was afraid of that. I knew this house was too good to be true.”
I let out a slight laugh as I slid out. “The work is technically up to code, so that’s why it passed whatever inspection you had. I can patch things for now, but unless you want me to keep coming out, it would be best to modernize the pipes. Looks like it’s the original plumbing. This house has been here longer than I’ve been around.”
“How long is that?” they asked.
“All my life.”
“Born and raised, huh? I wouldn’t know what that’s like.” They let out a short laugh. “I’ve been flirting with you and haven’t even told you my name. Mika Samay.” Mika wiped a hand against their pant leg and held it out. “I just moved here, but I’m well-accustomed to small towns. I’m genderfluid and use they/them pronouns. Not prefer them, use them.”
I grinned at them. “You’ll hear no arguments on that one. I’m the same. Well, not genderfluid exactly, but genderqueer. I get it.”
Their features relaxed, like they hadn’t been sure what my reaction would be. I could understand that, too. Even after living here my whole life, there were times I wasn’t sure who it was safe to be myself around. I didn’t let that stop me.
Wait... they’d been flirting with me? Now that I knew that...
“Is everything all right in here?”
Sweet cheese. There went that idea.
Chapter Eight
I turned, scowling at Matthias. “Go away.”
His lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. At times, I thought he was incapable of that. Cord said she’d seen it, but I didn’t believe her. “I got a call you might be walking into a dangerous situation, and I should come by. I can’t say I was surprised. What seems to be the problem?”
“No problem,” I said. “Other than a burst pipe under their sink. Now, as I said, go away. When you do, tell Cord not to worry so much. Not like I get bashed on the head every flaming day.”
“What’s this?” Mika asked. “Somebody thought I’d hit you over the head? For what reason, exactly?”
“My best friend and this guy,” I said, jerking my thumb at Matthias, “are overreacting because of one incident.” I glanced over at Matthias. “He’s in prison, so I don’t know why you won’t let it go.”
“Face it, Mx. Carsley, you have a penchant for finding trouble.”
“There’s no trouble here,” I snapped back. “You can stop acting like a guard dog. You’re about as intimidating as Zio.”
His lips twitched again, but he slipped his sunglasses on as he turned away. “Have a nice night, Mx. Carsley.”
“Yeah, yeah. Have a nice life, Officer Lindert.”
“He’s a cop?” Mika asked.
I turned to them. “Didn’t the overbearing, I’ve-got-my-eye-on-you, attitude give it away?”
They tilted their head. “That wasn’t the vibe I got from that interaction. I figured either you’d dated, or you were currently dating. Thought my chance was gone before I even had one.”
I looked at them. That hadn’t just been flirting, it was flirting. I was stuck on the other things they said. “You thought I was dating Matthias? The first time we met, he thought I was a killer. Trust me, he doesn’t want to date me.”
“I heard nothing about you not wanting to date him.”
“He’s not interested in me. I don’t chase people who don’t care for me. I’m going to check my truck for the parts you need. I’ll be right back.”
When I got outside, Matthias was leaning against Cord’s car, talking to her through the open window. I ignored them and hurried to my truck, digging through a tote of plumbing parts. A lot of emergency jobs ended up being plumbing work, so I’d learned to keep some items on hand. I’d have to restock these soon. For now, I grabbed a new coupling to replace the one that had broken. I went to the house without looking over at Matthias or Cord.
Mika had gone back to mopping up the puddle. “You’ll need something a bit bigger than that,” I told them. “Maybe one of those restaurant mops. You know the kind?”
Mika nodded. “I can get an industrial one from work tomorrow. The medical center uses them too.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“Nope. Receptionist. I have no desire to work with blood or germs, but I can answer a phone like a dream.”
My face warmed, and I got back under the sink. I was sure I could listen to their voice all day, so why wouldn’t everyone call to hear them? I wanted to draw out fixing the problem, just so I could keep listening to them, but that wouldn’t be right. Instead, as I slid out from the sink, wiping my hands on my pants, I asked, “Do you want to get dinner tomorrow night?”
When I finally left Mika’s house, they were a hoot to talk with and I had trouble dragging myself away, Cord no longer sat in the driveway. That was something to be grateful for at least. I loved my friend, but I didn’t need her going into protective mode, or whatever had gotten into her recently. Or tease me about the date I’d gotten with Mika.
I changed my clothes at home, gave Zio a treat and a pat on the head, then hurried to my parents’. I was late, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t still be welcome. When I got to the backyard almost all my siblings and their spouses were there. And the kids, of course. Except I didn’t see Ross or Eli. Hadn’t they shown up tonight? Had I missed them?
Maybe that was for the best. I didn’t know if Amery said anything to Eli about us looking into Mayra’s death. I didn’t want to hear it. I could put that off a little longer.
I stopped next to Linnea and put a hand on her shoulder. If she wasn’t resting against her husband’s side, I’d think my little sister would fall over. “You look like you could use a break. Why haven’t you brought Isabella and Danica over lately?”
“Are you kidding?” Linnea asked. “The last time you watched them, you gave them cookies and sugary drinks right before we picked them up.”
I cocked my head to one side as I looked at her. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Linnea shook her head. I went to the other side of the table, dropping between my other two siblings, Gabe and Cailyn. Gabe shot me a look, but he still smiled. “Was that necessary?”
“Of course,” I told him. “Did you save any food for me?”
“Maybe you should work on getting here on time.” Cailyn sounded as if she had her nose stuck in the air. When I glanced over, she burst out laughing. “You should see your face. Does Dad ever not make enough food for all of us to take leftovers home?”
“Well, you never know. I’m pretty sure this one’s still growing.” I poked Gabe in the side.
“I’m taller than you,” he said dryly.
“Dad is fully grown,” a voice piped up from the table next to us. “Humans who produce more testosterone typically stop growing when they turn sixteen years old. Dad had that birthday... fifteen years ago.”
“Thank you, Spence,” Gabe told his son, his voice dry, but he didn’t look over at the boy. “That was very helpful.”
I looked over and saw my nephew was smiling as if he’d been paid the highest compliment. He certainly hadn’t heard the sarcasm in his father’s voice. I was impressed the six-year-old had pronounced ‘testosterone’ correctly. I sometimes stumbled over words like that.
I glanced back at my plate, trying to hide my grin. That kid was definitely one of a kind. “Are you teaching him human development already?” I asked.
Gabe wasn’t looking at me. Instead he and, his wife, Joanna were having a whispered conversation. I didn’t catch what they were saying, but from Gabe’s pinched brows, I knew something was wrong. “What is it?” I asked.
“We’ve been working on getting him to understand boundaries and that there are things he can’t just say to other people.”
“Why not?” I asked. “He should be able to be himself.” It was one thing I’d always loved about my family, no matter how much they meddled in my life. They never tried to change someone.
“Yeah,” Gabe said, “he should. But, if he says something to the wrong person, it could get him in trouble, and not just at school. We don’t want to change him, but he still has to live in this world. We need to make that as possible for him as we can. That’s our job.”
Joanna reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “We’ll deal with this,” she said. “We’ll talk to him again and get together with his therapists to handle it. I don’t want him to stop being who he is, we have to help guide him to where he can be just that.”
Gabe pressed his cheek to her hand. I hadn’t realized how tired my little brother seemed. The two of them seemed to handle whatever came up for Spence with such ease, I hadn’t thought it took a toll on them. Things weren’t always how they seemed.
Speaking of which... I glanced around. “Aren’t Ross and Eli coming tonight?” They rarely missed a family dinner. Dad had been so adamant I show up. Why didn’t they need to?
My mother shot a look at my father. He nodded and gazed at his plate. She turned to me with a smile which seemed forced. “They stopped by, but they had an appointment, so they couldn’t stay. Ross said he wishes to speak with you. As soon as you both get a chance.”
Great. He must know all about our investigation and would have something to say about it. I couldn’t wait to hear that.
Chapter Nine
“Let me get this straight,” Amery said, as they opened my closet door.
I gave a pretend shudder. “Please don’t. Straight is the last thing I want right now.”
They laughed at my silly joke. “Okay. Let me get the facts lined up then. No straightness involved.”
“Phew.”
“Hush, you. You called me asking for help. I’m here to help you.”
“It’s dinner. What’s wrong with me?”
“Not a single thing, Lou. Not one single thing. When’s the last time you went on a date?”
“I don’t even remember. Six months, maybe. We bored each other to tears.” My mom had set up that one, though those were usually my father trying to match me with a decent person. Of course, his last attempt was Matthias. Yeah, that would never happen.
“From what you said about this person, I don’t see that being the case. Just be your charming self.”
I snorted. “You obviously don’t know me at all. Charming? Yeah, that’s not a word that’s ever been used to describe me. I don’t know how to do that kind of stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Amery pushed aside some clothes. “My God, Lou, do you have anything but work shirts in here?”
“I told you. I don’t even know how to dress for a date. What am I supposed to do?”
“Just relax,” Amery said, though I wasn’t sure if they were talking to me or themself. “You said they were flirting with you when you were in your work clothes. This shouldn’t be a problem. Just need to find one without stains or holes, we should be able to make something work.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but Amery was a bit of a clotheshorse. If anyone could help me get ready, it would be them.
They peeked back at me then into the closet. And again. They could have been evaluating me for what outfit they should pick, but I didn’t think so. “What is it?”
“Have you figured out anything about Deke’s case?” Amery continued to push hangers over in my closet.
I didn’t want Deke to have a case. He hadn’t murdered that woman. Now, we had to prove it. This was at least something to consider besides my nerves over this date.
“Not a lot,” I admitted. “One woman I talked to at the reunion didn’t care for her, but Deke said she used to be Mayra’s number one minion, basically. I don’t know if she should be a suspect.”
“It wouldn’t be smart to remove her from the list. Somebody that close to the victim would know more about her than most. So couldn’t she have more reason to want her gone?”
Amery had a point. From what I’d heard about Mayra, granted only from Deke and Quin, and that bit from Whitney, there had been little to like in the first place.
“The only person we could think of was her fiancé. Cord’s uncle got pressure to hurry the autopsy. Which might have come from her parents, but we didn’t think they were suspects.”
“Who’s her fiancé?”
“Duncan... something. I guess his family’s some big name security manufacturer.”
“Morrau?” Amery asked. “She was engaged to The Duncan Morrau?”
Why did they sound so aghast? “Apparently. What’s the big deal about this guy?”
“What’s the big deal?” Amery echoed. “He’s been groomed most of his life to take on a political career. He throws it away at every chance. Word is he does it just to snub his nose at mommy and daddy.”
“Cord said he gives most of his money to charitable causes.”
Amery nodded their head, a wide grin on their face. “You know what most of those causes are? Affirmations, Frameline, SAGE, and the Trevor Project.”
“I don’t know those first ones. Are they all queer causes?”
“Yes, they are. And his parents are staunch conservatives. You see what I mean about snubbing his nose at them?”
“They aren’t the only bigots he knows. From what Deke said, Mayra didn’t take too well to finding out he’s bisexual, and still didn’t think well of him ten years later. Yet she planned to marry a man who gave his money to charities supporting queer people?”
“Maybe she had her reasons. For marrying him, I mean. I won’t make excuses about her beliefs that people like us don’t matter.”
“Maybe he realized how vicious she was and... I don’t even know. This wasn’t a crime of passion. Cord thinks she was drugged beforehand. There had to be some planning to stage it like a suicide, even if it didn’t convince anyone.”
“I want to say Duncan wouldn’t do something like that, but I only know him from his social media presence and what I’ve seen on news segments. Doesn’t mean it’s the truth.”
“In that case,” I said, “no, we aren’t any closer to figuring out who did this.”
I was waiting on my front porch when I saw him walking by. I couldn’t quite hold in a groan. Either he’d heard me, or he’d been planning to turn my way the whole time. “What are you doing here, Officer Lindert?”
He slipped his thumbs in his pockets and just looked at me. “You’re all cleaned up, Mx. Carsley. Going somewhere special?”
Never mind. “Cord called you, didn’t she? Will you please tell her a person showing interest in me doesn’t have to mean anything nefarious? My god, you’d think no one had ever gone on a date with me.”
His mouth twitched ever so slightly. I may have imagined the movement, since it was gone so quickly. “You’ll have to take that up with her,” he said. “I’m just taking a stroll around town.”
“Uh huh. Why don’t I believe that?”
“Because you apparently have a suspicious nature. That’s not my fault. I’ll just be continuing on. Watch yourself, Mx. Carsley. That murder happened not that far away, and we don’t know who’s responsible.”
“Please tell me you don’t think I’m guilty this time. I didn’t even know she was here.”
His gaze sharpened. “You did know her?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I was introduced to her Saturday night, which I already told you. I don’t think I said over five words to her. I didn’t kill her.”
I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw relief in his eyes.
