Te-Kill-Ya Sunrise, page 7
“Good luck with the investigation, Chief Crown.” I turned my back on her and stomped back to the bar, waving at Jasper who carried on despite a concerned look aimed in my direction, my whole evening soured by the continuing controversy. And the sight of Thompson Clark and Melrose Lewis arguing not far from the corner of my bar?
About to get the pair of them bounced out of my place and kicked off the key if I had anything to say about it. And since I did have something to say about it, it was time to call Ox and make sure this was the last time Melrose decided to ignore the fact I’d banned him. Except, as I reached for my phone to text the big bouncer to come do some biffing, the unwelcome guests in question split and went their separate ways, leaving me to glare after both of them in a huff that needed an outlet but wasn’t going to get one.
It was a long night at the bar, and I only had my attitude to blame for my lack of tips.
***
Chapter Fifteen
By the time I closed up for the night, I was still grouchy, though a nice scratch for Bruno and a snack from the restaurant fridge had me sorted out more or less. As I headed out, I noted the University of Florida van parked on the far corner of my lot and paused as the three scientists climbed out, lugging gear with them as they went.
The young woman waved to me with a cheerful, “Hey, Becks!” that had me going back inside and retrieving a few choice leftovers Marta Sanchez had prepared (mostly for Bruno, but some for me, too) before returning to the parking lot. The researchers had already crossed the sand to the little shack they’d erected three weeks ago, gaining permission to park in my lot at night when they told me why they were here on the key.
I scratched at the canvas flap, the bulk of the tent buried in sand to keep it camouflaged and handed over the paper containers with two burritos and a fresh dish of guacamole and chips to the beaming trio who immediately dove into the food.
“How’s the turtle business?” The fact sea turtles were nesting here on this stretch of beach had me delighted and fascinated, though I hadn’t checked in with the researchers in a few days.
“Awesome,” Ricki Solet said, the Ph.D. candidate pushing her wire-rimmed glasses up her narrow nose, long, brown hair in a thick ponytail hanging over one shoulder, her t-shirt’s cartoon turtle waving over the “Save Me!” written below. “We’ve tagged fourteen female loggerheads in the last week alone. And don’t get me started on the two leatherbacks.” She eye-rolled in delight while her male companions laughed. “Gorgeous girls. We’re hoping they’ll come nest, but it’s a pretty active stretch of beach.” She sounded so wistful.
“It’ll happen,” Jacob Piercer said, her co-researcher nodding to their professor, Dr. Noah Moshe. “Right, doc?”
“One of these years,” he said, thick Israeli accent as exotic as his amber eyes and warm, brown skin. He winked at me, taking a big bite of burrito. “If only all key residents had your interest, Rebecca.” He always insisted on my full first name and, while I didn’t mind so much, it always sounded awesome coming from him.
Yes, I needed to date. I get it, okay? Lay off.
“I need a favor,” I said. All three instantly nodded, pausing in their setup and chewing to wait for the ask. “Do you have any footage that covers Off Key from last night?” I was still kind of pissed at Allie, but she was my friend and I figured she hadn’t asked because even I overlooked the small band of turtle hunters who hunkered here in a dirt-covered canvas hole in the sand. Or she’d thought of it and I’d wasted my time, but it was my time to waste.
Turned out it was the former. “As a matter of fact,” Noah said, leaning over Ricki’s shoulder and poking some keys on her laptop. I crouched, Bruno nudging his way inside and demanding pats from Jacob while I watched the video footage scroll on fast forward. It jumped from location to location several times before it came to a halt around 1AM early that morning.
I met Noah’s eyes with a squint only to have him shrug.
“I am assuming you’re asking can only be connected to the death of that woman,” the biologist said. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of it myself before now.” He pointed at the screen. “The camera jumps locations once an hour, on a timer, but it may have caught something of use.”
It had a pretty clear line of sight to Off Key, if far enough away to make details sketchy. Still, it could help Allie, so I hadn’t wasted my time after all.
And then Sunny staggered into view and all thoughts of everything went out the window. The four of us watched, engrossed, as she sat at the bar alone, only to be confronted a moment later by her friends. She stood to face them, the three other women seemed angry, gesturing wildly around, one even pushing her. Sunny staggered back as Chrissy arrived from around the bar and confronted all four. The three friends left Sunny with their former sister who had her own shouting match—or so it looked—with the victim.
When Chrissy left, I exhaled deeply, especially when Valentine approached from the beach side, out of sight of the footage Allie already had access to. He’d told her as much, and so far his story panned out. After another argument—Sunny knew how to piss people off—I watched Valentine storm away. The feeling of relief he’d left her alive had me hoping there was something Allie could do for him. He’d been honest about his encounter with the victim and if he really was innocent of the crime she’d put him away for, he deserved to be compensated and cleared.
Sunny had another visitor a moment later as Melrose Lewis approached, sneaking through the beach like a thief as though creeping up on his ex-wife. This time the fight wasn’t so explosive, though it appeared intense. Hard to tell, really, from that distance, though he, too, stormed away. I almost leaned back while Sunny sagged on the stool, arms crossing over the counter, head down. Except movement from the beach caught my attention as, to my surprise, Chrissy strode back toward the bar, purse swinging from her shoulder.
Her purse. The matching purse. At least, it looked that way to me. Sure, I could have been wrong. Like I said, it was a good hundred feet away, impossible to make out features, but I was sure I was right.
Before Chrissy could reach Sunny, however, the footage switched to an empty bit of sand and surf.
“That’s everything, I’m afraid,” Noah said, sounding breathlessly disappointed.
“And I thought watching turtles was exciting,” Ricki said while Jacob grinned around a mouthful of food he shared with drooling Bruno.
“Can you make sure Allie gets a copy?” I was asking for them to share research footage without a warrant, but the biologist didn’t flinch.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll email it personally. Though I don’t know if it will help.” He skimmed the footage forward by two hours, the cycle of the camera’s focus shifting back to the bar and the slumped form of Sunny, now very dead and still.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it,” I said. Took my leave with final pats for Bruno from the three, texting my chief friend what I’d found, and that the footage was on the way.
She messaged me almost immediately. Got it, she sent. Thanks, Becks.
So, we were still friends? I was surprised by the release of tension that simple text gave me and was in a much better mood as I climbed behind the wheel than I probably deserved to be. After all, I may have just seen a murderer just before she throttled her former friend with the straps of her sisterhood purse.
Yikes, relationships were complicated.
I had no idea how complicated. Until I pulled into my driveway to find Jasper sitting on my step, head in his hands. When he looked up and met my eyes, I groaned because I really didn’t want to have to deal with his drama at 1:30AM.
Didn’t get the choice though, did I?
“Becks,” he groaned as I joined him, Bruno head-butting my friend until he gave him some love, “I screwed up.”
“More than sleeping with a murder victim?” I sighed, more because I hadn’t meant to say that out loud and felt guilty about it.
He nodded, wincing anxiety tightening his handsome face. “I told Allie I’d never met Sunny before,” he said. “I might not have been one hundred percent honest about that.”
And, just when I thought I could write off my conflict with her as a one-off. “Come on in,” I said, dragging myself to my feet. “Let’s get a beer and figure out what you’re going to do to make sure she doesn’t arrest you for being an idiot.”
***
Chapter Sixteen
I called Allie. Of course, I did. She arrived despite the early hour looking like she’d still been up, which I knew she had. Her classic bouts of insomnia almost guaranteed she’d been looking for a reason not to pretend she was trying to sleep. She’d told me her sleep issues were a holdover from her days in LA working all hours on homicide cases, but I had no doubt there was a solid background of some kind of PTSD adding its own little flavor of the month to her inability to get more than an hour or two at a time.
My dad might have died young, but I knew enough cops during my time in the forensics lab—and dated a few—that I knew trauma sourced stress when I ran into it.
Allie accepted the beer I handed her the moment she walked through my door with a stoic expression and nod for Jasper, sitting quietly with her long legs crossed, looking casual in her t-shirt and cut-offs, flipflops a reminder I needed to paint my toes again since hers looked freshly groomed and mine were a notable disaster. While she didn’t look the part so much in civvies, there was always something distinctly authoritative about Allie Crown that had even the charismatic Jasper Dunlop stumbling over words and apologizing as he filled us both in on his unintended untruth.
Starting by showing us both his social media from six months prior and a picture of himself and the victim smiling over drinks, faces flushed, from the dancefloor of Off Key.
“We had met,” he said, dropping his phone into his lap while Allie sipped and stared over the lip of her beer. “I just didn’t remember until I came across that pic tonight.”
“By met,” I said, knowing my dry wit was lost on him, if not on Allie, “you mean…?”
He wrinkled his tanned nose, shrugging. “I don’t kiss and tell, Becks.” Then laughed. “Yeah, okay, fine,” he said when I snorted in response. “With you guys I do. She stayed the night at my place if that’s what you’re implying.” His expression turned serious again however when Allie showed no sign of amusement. “I swear, it was only one night, and she was gone the next morning. It’s why I didn’t remember.”
Six months wasn’t that long ago, but it was an age for someone like him, so apparently Allie was fine with letting that pass.
“I know you didn’t kill her,” she said. “You can relax, champ.”
He did, slumping down into my recliner, bare feet up on my coffee table, look of relief on his handsome face. “I don’t think she remembered me either,” he said. Almost sounded sad.
“Poor Jasper,” I said. “Bit of a blow to the ego, there, is it?”
He shrugged then, grinned and took a drink of his own beer. “I’m pretty memorable, Becks.”
That finally roused humor from Allie as both of us laughed out loud. Jasper didn’t take offense at all, though he did sigh as he peeled at the label on his bottle.
“A shame,” he said. “She was about to sign on Pine Pen next week.”
Allie perked at that, as did I. “Pinehill Peninsula?” That strip of land had been for sale for as long as I’d lived here and while that was only six months, it was a long time for a property on the Key. Likely because the owners were asking for an astronomical amount.
“I guess they found a spot then,” I said, thinking of her and her friends and how their dream would likely die with Sunny.
Jasper shot me a strange look. “They?”
“The sisterhood.” I didn’t mean to eyeroll. Maybe I was jealous, because how cool would it be to have friends like that? Then again, Sunny and her little posse weren’t all they seemed and certainly had their flaws.
Jasper shook his head, frowning. “Sunny was buying it solo,” he said. “I should know. I’m the agent on the deal.”
The fact Jasper now had his real estate license and hadn’t told me was a conversation for another time. But I did have an exasperated question for him.
“When did she have time to hire you?” I was pretty sure I already knew.
“The night she… you know.” He shrugged.
“And you still didn’t remember her.” Amazing.
Jasper didn’t seem concerned with his memory lapse, even if I was.
Allie and I exchanged a look as I sat back with a smirk despite his truly despotic attitude.
“Well now,” I said, saluting the chief with my beer. “Sounds to me like the queen bee was building a hive without her little workers.”
“And could be an excellent motive for murder.” Allie saluted back. Then sighed deeply before sitting forward, elbows on her knees, balancing her beer between her hands as it dangled between them. “I just don’t have enough to prove it.”
“What else did she tell you?” I prodded Jasper with one foot and with my words while Allie watched him with slitted eyes. “Since she trusted you enough to sell her property, it had to be more than pillow talk.”
He seemed uncomfortable but nodded. “I guess she’s dead now, so any kind of agent-client privilege is gone with her.”
Allie reached out and flicked his big toe with her thumb and index finger. “That’s not even a real thing, Jas,” she said. “Spill.”
“Just that she made tons of cash from her prenup,” he said. “Bragged about making a killing off her ex, taking him for a full ride.” Nice. “That her so-called friends were idiots.” Wow, Sunny had real class. “Something about their divorces not being airtight.”
Well, we knew that much now. “Because Chrissy told,” I said.
He shook his head, earnest. “She said she made sure she was the first one so that her ex was the first to cheat, with one of the girls. That way if it did come out that they’d arranged everything Sunny would be protected by saying Chrissy was lying to protect Melrose. She knew her friend was in love with him.”
Allie stared at Jasper for a long moment before casually reaching over and smacking his leg so hard he jumped and yelped at the contact. I highly doubt she hurt him, but she definitely startled the two of us.
Still deadpan, she tilted her head, blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder to dangle across the mouth of her beer. “And you kept all of this information from me why?”
Now, he may not have been the brightest bulb in the bunch, but Jasper knew quiet condemnation when he heard it. He winced, shrugged, sighed before opening his mouth, obviously to apologize. As Allie waved off his answer.
“Just don’t.” She stared down at her beer before polishing it off in a long swig, setting it down with a thud on the coffee table. “Okay, so she set up Chrissy, is that what you’re saying?”
“Chrissy said she’d always had a thing for Melrose.” At least I shared what I learned, sheesh.
Allie nodded, chewing her bottom lip now as she squinted at nothing. “Clever, really, though if Chrissy found out?”
“You saw the footage from the turtle cam?” I sat forward myself. “I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Chrissy had her sisterhood purse with her.”
Allie’s attention returned to me. “Carter sent the final images with comparisons to the strap of Sunny’s bag,” she said. “Perfect match.”
“And the last person seen with her—at least by a camera and that we know of—was Chrissy.” Certainly wasn’t looking very good.
“Someone who’d been orchestrated by a sociopath to take a fall so Sunny could get what she wanted.” Allie stood up, taking her empty bottle with her as she strode around me and Jasper, heading for the kitchen. I heard the soft clatter of the bottle sliding into the waiting box before the chief returned to stand in the doorway, arms crossed over her narrow chest, backlit by the brighter light of the kitchen. “And someone who told me she’d left when the other women did and that was the last she’d seen of Sunny.” A definite lie. “A someone who first said she’d thrown her purse away, then claimed to have lost it that night.” Yikes. I waited for Allie to wrap up, knowing she’d already made up her mind, likely before this conversation, but had enough now to make an arrest and hand things over to the state boys. “I already have officers searching garbage bins along the main strip just in case she was dumb enough to dump it. But now I’m thinking I need to search her hotel room again. If she found out Sunny set her up on purpose, there may be evidence of that on her phone or computer. And that would be more than enough circumstantial evidence to move forward, even if I don’t have the official murder weapon and the footage from the beach isn’t conclusive.” She dropped her arms to her sides, nodding to me. “Thanks, Becks. I guess I’ll go pay her a visit right now.”
***
Chapter Seventeen
I topped up a customer’s coffee, the man barely looking up from the chat he was having with his three friends over breakfast as Florida sunshine beamed into the dining room at Low Key. Not that I minded being ignored by the four golf enthusiasts—impossible to miss from their logoed shirts, ball caps and garishly annoying pants that might have made them look like individuals if they weren’t all trying so hard—as I filled in for Juliette over the breakfast rush. The yawn that finally made it past my defenses lived behind my raised hand as I turned from the window booth and headed for the main counter to refill my coffee pot, waving to the pair of women who tried to flag me down on the way.
