Dying for Dinner Rolls (8 page)

“So I hear a call on the scanner. There’s a fire in a dumpster on Jones, and two people are stuck inside.” José took off his sunglasses.

A fire truck, an ambulance, and three squad cars lined the alley on Jones. A dozen or so onlookers gathered nearby. The smell of burnt wood hung in the air.

“Weird, huh?” I grimaced as I stood next to Annie Mae near the ambulance. A half dozen police milled about.

The fire truck pulled away.

“What’s even stranger is that, right away, not only did I know those two people were female, I also knew their names.” José took a deep breath then exhaled.

“You must be psychic.” Annie Mae nudged me in the arm.

“No.” José scratched his head. “I knew that two of my friends were getting in way over their heads. I’m not even going to ask why you were in there.”

“Good idea.” Annie Mae nodded.

José put his arms in the air.

“Do you know what caused the fire?” I asked José.

“They found a burning cigarette butt around the dumpster.” José twisted his mouth. “Another could have been thrown in and set the wood chips on fire.”

“See?” Annie Mae stood, arms akimbo. “Smoking is hazardous. It almost killed us.”

“Thankfully, it didn’t.” I looked down at my leg where EMS had cleaned and bandaged the scrape.

“Did someone purposefully set us on fire?” Annie Mae asked José.

“I hope not,” I added.

José said, “I’m not trying to throw shade on you, but what a fool thing…”

Annie Mae interrupted. “Throw what on us?”

“I meant that I’m not trying to chastise you about what you all are doing.” José’s radio attached to his shoulder buzzed. He waved at one of the officers. “Gotta go. I’m glad you’re okay. Stay out of trouble.”

I gave José thumbs-up before he left.

“Cat, I’ll be right back. I see a former associate over there. I’m going to say hi and tell her about all the excitement I’ve had.” Annie Mae strode over to a gray-haired lady in the crowd.

I glanced down at my phone. I had several missed calls and texts. Andrew, my mom, Teddy. Timmy, my sister-in-law, and Bezu. Savannah was a small town. I knew everyone would find out about Annie Mae and me and the dumpster. One by one, I called them back, assuring them that I was okay while downplaying the whole incident so no one worried.

By the time I completed the last call, Annie Mae was back at my side holding a chandelier. “I don’t want to forget this.”

“At least you got something nice. This day wasn’t a total disaster.” My shoulders slumped.

“Cheer up. I had fun.” Annie Mae patted my arm.

“I wanted to find a killer. And now we’re empty-handed.” I plodded down the sidewalk.

“Not me.” Annie Mae walked alongside me. “We did find out that Bert’s a lying adulterer.”

“But where does that get us? Not closer to anything.”

As we turned the corner and approached my SUV, I noticed writing on the windshield.

“What’s on your windshield?” Annie Mae jogged to my car. Her large breasts bounced up and down, and the metal on the chandelier clanged as she took each step.

I ran to the front of my SUV. The words, written in pink lipstick, said, “Back off Bert.”

Annie Mae leaned on my SUV, pointing at the message. “Holy smokes. Is that a threat?”

“I’m not sure. But if it is, then maybe the same person who wrote this also just tried to incinerate us in the dumpster.” I locked eyes with Annie Mae.

“See? Today wasn’t a total disaster. We must’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest, and now the killer is after us.”

“And how is this good?”

“It means we are closer to solving your dad’s and Lucy’s deaths.”

“Or getting killed.”

“Let’s stay positive, okay?” Annie Mae shrugged her shoulders.

“Right.”

My head spun with the implications of someone after us. My husband and mom couldn’t know about this or they’d never forgive me for putting myself in danger. For that matter, I wanted to run the other way, too.

I loved my kids and family and couldn’t imagine what would happen to them if something happened to me. On the other hand, I felt just as strongly about continuing the investigation and getting the killer off the streets.

I was torn.

Continue or run away?

Annie Mae leaned on my SUV’s hood. She took a finger and touched the bottom of the letter B. “It’s written in lipstick.”

“Pink lipstick.” A bell went off in my head. “Could it be the same used on the note found next to Lucy’s body?”

Clouds rolled in. A crack of thunder sounded. The humid air smelled earthy and sweet.

Annie Mae took out her phone and began to snap pictures of the windshield.

I fobbed my doors open. “What are you doing?”

“Taking pictures, just in case in rains.” Annie Mae pointed up. “It’s getting dark.”

“Good idea. But I think it’ll take more than rain to get that off.”

“Should we call José?” Annie Mae opened the passenger door.

“I will.” I got in the driver’s side and hit speed dial nine.

José answered. “Are you stuck in another dumpster?”

“Ha. No.” I said to Annie Mae, “He wanted to know if we were stuck in another dumpster.”

“Funny.” Annie Mae buckled up.

I said back in the phone, “So, listen, José. Somebody vandalized my SUV.”

“Oh?” José asked.

“Someone wrote ‘Back off Bert’ on my windshield.”

“Back off, like a threat?”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

“With what?” José asked.

“Pink lipstick.” I said.

“Lipstick? So you can wash it off, right? It’s not permanent.”

“No.” I added, “Annie Mae took pictures of it, too, just in case.”

“Nothing else is wrong with your vehicle?”

“No. I’m sure the message referred to Lucy’s husband.”

“I guessed that, too.” José asked, “Do you need a police report?”

“Should I get one?”

“If you need it for an insurance claim.”

“No. But I do want proof about the message written on my windshield. And for someone to take a sample of the lipstick. Just in case it proves useful later on.”

“An officer will be there shortly. Sit tight.” José clicked off.

Five minutes later, a squad car pulled up.

A skinny, fresh-faced officer walked over to us. “Hey, are you the dynamic duo that was in the burning dumpster?”

“We’re celebrities.” Annie Mae grinned ear to ear.

***

Ten minutes later, the officer finished the report, took the sample of the lipstick, and left.

I struggled to see in the window through the lettering. “What a mess.”

“We have to get something to wash that off.” Annie Mae rummaged in her purse. “My makeup remover pads may help. I may have some tissue, too.”

“Look in the backseat. I have a box of baby wipes.”

“You still carry them around? The girls have been out of diapers for years.”

“Yes, but they still get sticky fingers, and there are always spills to clean.”

After using a box of baby wipes, my windshield was clean, and we were on our way.

“What do you think that message meant?” Annie Mae asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that. It was missing punctuation, so I’m not too sure. Did it mean to read ‘Back off’ then a period then ‘Bert’? Meaning Bert signed the message? Or did it mean leave Bert alone, and someone else wrote it?” I asked.

“Like his mistress?” Annie Mae said.

“I think we need to visit Bert and Susie.”

“Since they’re a couple, maybe they’ll be together, and we’ll get two lovebirds with one stone.”

“That would be nice.”

I drove the few blocks over to Bert’s house and parked in front.

“Let’s play detectives.” Annie Mae unbuckled and got out.

As soon as I climbed out, it began to sprinkle. It smelled of wet soil and earthworms.

Annie Mae held her purse over her head. “I’m getting wet.”

“Run between the raindrops.” I always said that to the kids, too, when they complained about getting rained on.

We sped up our pace. Shortly, we were standing under Bert’s porch.

Annie Mae jabbed the doorbell a few times.

The door opened. Bert, in shorts and pressed shirt, looked us up and down. “What the hell are you two doing here again?”

“We need to talk to you,” I said.

“Jeez.” Bert grimaced. “Cat, you look like hell.”

“It’s been a rough day.” I ran a hand through my hair, only to get it stuck.

“What’s that smell?” Bert’s nose crinkled.

“Scent of a campfire, right?” Annie Mae added.

Bert nodded.

“It’s us. Perfume of the burning dumpster,” I said.

Bert raised an eyebrow.

“Never mind.” I sighed.

Bert asked, “So what do you want this time? You’ve got two seconds, because I have even less patience for you two than I did the first time you showed up.”

“What’s with the message on her windshield?” Annie Mae asked Bert while motioning toward me.

“What are you talking about?” Bert held the door halfway open.

“The message ‘Back off Bert’ written in lipstick,” I said.

“I don’t know anything about that.” Bert raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s about me?”

“You’re the only Bert I know,” I said.

“That doesn’t matter. I didn’t write any message on your car. You need to leave now.” Bert began to close the door.

“Whoa, hold on, there. It was written in pink lipstick.” Annie Mae grabbed on to the door.

“So?” Bert furrowed his eyebrows.

“Doesn’t Susie wear that color?” I asked Bert.

Bert blushed and looked at the ground.

“Speechless, huh?” Annie Mae said.

“Bert, this is not looking good for you or your girlfriend. Yes, we know about your mistress, Susie. First we almost get cooked in a dumpster, and now a threatening message is left on my vehicle,” I said.

“What does that have to do with me?” Bert turned his palms up.

“You lied about where you were when Lucy died. That is suspicious in and of itself,” I said.

“Your mistress may’ve wanted her competition, Lucy, out of the way.” Annie Mae shook a finger in Bert’s face. “So she killed her. Or maybe you schemed together to kill her.”

“That’s enough. You both need to get the hell out of here. If you don’t, I’m going to get a restraining order on you.” Bert huffed as he nudged Annie Mae away from the door.

“Oh, hell no. You’re not going to restrain—” Annie Mae lunged at Bert.

I grabbed her arm, keeping her from Bert. “Fine, Bert. We’ll leave. Just know that you and Susie are on our list of suspects.”

“If I ever see either one of you here again, I promise, I’ll call the police next time.” Bert slammed the door.

“That went well.” Annie Mae brushed her hair with her hand. “I think I’m getting this detective stuff down.”

“How so?”

“You see how I made him nervous? That’s called backing him into a corner.”

“So?”

“Now that he’s scared, he’s going to have to react. Maybe we’ll catch him doing something that’ll prove that he killed Lucy. We’ll have to keep close tabs on him.”

“Not too close, or he’ll get us arrested.”

“I’ve never been in jail before. I wonder what it’s like.” Annie Mae held her purse over her head as we both dashed to my SUV. “Although I did play Roxie in Chicago.”

“Somehow I think real jail is different from that.” I fobbed my doors open and got in.

“He wouldn’t call the police.” Annie Mae plopped into her seat.

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” I turned the key. “He’s still a murder suspect, which means he could do worse to us.”

“Like what?”

“Kill us.”

“We need to go visit Susie. I hope she’s still at work. I think the Red and White is open from nine in the morning until nine in the evening. But I have no idea how long she works.” I pulled away from the curb.

“One way to find out.” Annie Mae scrolled through her phone. “I’m calling the store.”

Annie Mae held the phone to the side of her head. “I got some bad peaches, rotted with worms. I need to speak to your manager, Susie…. No. No. Don’t get her. I’ll just stop in later. How late will she be there?... Uh-huh…” Annie Mae held five fingers up. “Great. Thank you. Bye.”

Annie Mae turned to me. “We have a half hour to get there.”

“We’re only a few minutes away.”

“Now let me look up some questioning techniques.” Annie Mae tapped her iPhone.

“I’m sorry I got you in all of this.”

“You don’t have to apologize. This is the most excitement I’ve had since the last time Ernie and I were amorous. The week before his heart attack.” Annie Mae looked at her phone. “He was quite the skilled lover.”

“Too much information.” I smiled.

“I do miss him.” Annie Mae looked up. “If it weren’t for the Chubby Chicks, I’d be so lonely. Don’t ever tell José that.”

Keeping my left hand on the steering wheel, I reached over with my right hand and held hers.

Annie Mae’s eyes watered up. “I’m so glad I have you as a friend.”

“Me, too.”

Five minutes later, I pulled into the lot for the Red and White Grocery Store and parked alongside a red VW Beetle.

“I have to get myself together before we go in.” Annie Mae grabbed a tissue and dabbed her eyes.

“Take your time.” I shut off the engine.

Annie Mae blew her nose into a tissue. “So I web searched ‘questions to ask a killer,’ and I only came up with killer interview questions. Neither of us needs a job, so that won’t work. But I remember seeing on a TV show that when the motive is found that can lead to finding the killer.”

“A motive to kill Lucy?” My gut twisted. “I cannot think of one single reason. None.”

“Of course you can’t think of one, because you’re not a murderer.” Annie Mae stuck a finger on her forehead. “We need to get into the head of a killer. This will help us find him and prevent any more deaths.”

I wanted the person who killed Lucy and my dad behind bars forever. Ever since I could remember, I’ve had this intense drive to right wrongs. One of my grade school teachers often told me that I had to understand life was not fair. But I couldn’t accept that. “So you’re saying to find the scum, we have to think like one.”

Annie Mae nodded. “Yes, now you’re on the right track.”

“Money usually is the root of crimes.” Although, when my dad died, nothing was stolen.

Annie Mae rubbed her fingers together. “Money is a big reason.”

“Bert could’ve wanted the money from Lucy’s life insurance policy, assuming she had one. They were upper middle class. Bert did pretty well as an accountant, and Lucy had quite a client list as a designer, so I’m thinking they probably had a policy.”

“Or maybe he wanted the house to himself so he could walk around in his underwear. Some men like doing that. My Ernie spent more time in his boxer shorts than real pants. I used to buy him all sorts of colorful patterns and prints just so that I’d have something nice to look at.”

I giggled. “Okay, we’ll add that to the mental list of motives.”

Annie Mae bounced in her seat. “Here’s another one. The mistress could’ve been jealous and wanted Lucy gone so that she could have Bert to herself. Although I can’t fathom why. Maybe that’s just me.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought. “Can you think of any more?”

“What about her neighbor? The fight about the tree.”

“You’re right.” I stopped in my tracks. “But why would she kill my dad, too?”

Annie Mae’s eyes went wide. Then she hung her head. “I’m so sorry. I forget we’re looking for his killer, not just Lucy’s.”

“Maybe it wasn’t the same person. Who could’ve had a motive to kill both Lucy and my dad? There’s nothing that connects them, not Bert, not Susie, not the neighbor.”

“Now that you said that, you’re right. It doesn’t make sense that it’d be the same person after both of them. Sorry, babe.” Annie Mae put her hand on my shoulder. “What do you want to do?”

I twisted the ring on my thumb as I thought of my dad. This whole time, I had thought we were after his killer, too, and now I realized that Lucy’s could be a different person. “No matter how long I live, I won’t give up trying to find the person who took my dad’s life. But I think we should focus on Lucy’s case first. We’re getting close.”

“Did you just say case? That makes this sound so professional.” Annie Mae waved her hands. “Almost like we are legitimate detectives.”

The clock on my dashboard displayed 4:50. “We have ten minutes to get in there and talk to Susie before she leaves.”

“Since I didn’t find any useful things to ask a killer, we’re going to have to improvise,” Annie Mae said.

“That won’t be a problem. With four kids, my whole life is on the fly.”

***

The automatic doors whooshed open, and cool air greeted us as we entered the store. Loaves of bread in white paper bags sat on a table in front of the registers. A sign read, “Just baked.” Next to it was a table of peaches.

“It smells like a bakery in here. I’m getting hungry.” Annie Mae lifted a loaf of bread and stuck her nose next to it. “I have to get this.”

Cynthia stood behind the register, playing with her phone. She looked up at us. “Hi again.”

“Hi, Cynthia,” I said.

“Just giving you a heads up. The bread is good. But, like, I wouldn’t get the peaches if I were you. Someone just called and said they’ve got worms.”

“Oh, really?” Annie Mae strode past the registers while looking around.

Cynthia rang up a customer as Annie Mae and I wandered down an aisle.

“Do you see Susie?” I asked.

“Follow me.” Annie Mae walked down the cereal section as she pointed to the boxes on the shelf. “What ever happened to Quisp? I loved that cereal.”

“Gone in the 1970s with Tang and feathered hair.”

“Too bad.” Annie Mae rounded a corner, and I followed. “That was my favorite decade.”

We entered the dairy section in the back of the store.

Susie leaned against a glass freezer door, talking on a cell phone.

“There she is,” I whispered. “What are we going to say?”

“Not sure yet.”

“I don’t want to disturb her. She may be on an important call.”

Suzie let out a loud giggle as she talked into the phone.

“Something tells me it’s a personal call, not business.”

I paced back and forth. “Now what?”

“Let me handle this.” Annie Mae grinned.

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you going to do?”

“Watch and learn.” Annie Mae walked in front of Susie then collapsed to the floor. “OOOOOWWW.”

My heart practically jumped out of my chest. I immediately dropped down on my knees next to Annie Mae. “Are you hurt?”

She winked at me. “Bait.”

Susie ran over to Annie Mae. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Oh, my ankle. I think I may’ve twisted it when I tripped.”

Susie’s face flushed as she knelt beside Annie Mae. Her breasts strained against the seams of her tight dress. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

“No. No.” Annie Mae slowly sat up. She held her ankle in one hand and rubbed it. “I’m sure that I can stand up just fine. It’s feeling better already.”

Susie’s eyes scanned the area. “What did you trip on?”

“A wet spot…no, maybe a bump, but it could’ve been…” Annie Mae stopped midsentence, obviously trying to drum up an answer.

Susie narrowed her eyes. “Hey. Weren’t you two in here earlier? Yes. I remember you. You bought a plant, and…” She pointed at me. “You asked a lot of questions.”

“OOOOOOWWW.” Annie Mae gave me a sideways glance. “I may never walk again.”

“You just said you could stand up.” Susie stood and crossed her arms. “Is this a scam? Because we have video cameras all over, and our insurance adjuster will know if this is fraud.”

Annie Mae motioned for me to grab her arm. “Help me up.”

I pulled her until she was upright. She waved her hand. “Let me try to walk on my own.”

Annie Mae wobbled a little, dragging her left foot. “I can walk. It’s a miracle.”

Susie examined us with eyes slit. “You’re Lucy’s friends. Bert warned me about you two snooping around and bugging him.”

Annie Mae put her hand on my shoulder. “Bert who?”

“Ladies, I think you should leave.” Susie pointed to the entrance.

“I love your lipstick. What brand and color is it?” Annie Mae asked Susie as I held her arm and guided her down an aisle. She dragged her right leg.

“Wrong foot.” I whispered to Annie Mae.

Annie Mae began limping on her left foot.

Susie followed us. “That’s it. I’m calling the police.”

“No need,” Annie Mae called back to Susie. “I’m feeling great.”

Annie Mae looked at me. “Let’s scram.”

With that, we both jogged out the door.

“I forgot to get some bread. It smelled so good,” Annie Mae said as we climbed into the car.

We sat in the parking lot, both catching our breath.

“What now?” I asked.

“Hell if I know.” Annie Mae flipped down the passenger visor and opened the mirror. “This detective stuff is putting color in my cheeks.”

“You do have a healthy glow to your cheeks.”

“And I didn’t even put blush on today.”

Cynthia appeared and unlocked the door on the red VW Beetle next to Annie Mae’s door.

“I’ve got an idea. Roll down your window,” I said to Annie Mae. “Excuse me, Cynthia. Do you remember me? Teddy and Timmy’s mom?”

A pop of gum, then a head turn toward us, and then a nod. “Yeah, right. You were, like, just in the store.”

“Yes, we were.” I smiled.

“You don’t happen to have a loaf of bread on you, do you?” Annie Mae asked Cynthia.

I nudged her in the side. “Don’t worry about that, Cynthia. I was just wondering if you could do me a favor. But it has to be our secret.” I put a finger to my lips.

“I can’t know, either?” Annie Mae’s voice rose.

“All of our secret,” I said.

“K.” Cynthia leaned through the open passenger-side front window. Her straight blonde hair fell into the car. She smelled minty. “What do you need? I have, like, a half-hour break and need to grab some chow.”

“Sure, I’ll be quick.” Think. Think. “We’re getting a gift for your manager, Susie.”

“We are?” Annie Mae asked.

I winked at Annie Mae.

“A surprise gift. We want to buy her favorite lipstick, but we don’t know what color or brand it is.” I shrugged my shoulders while flitting my eyelids.

Annie Mae gaped at me with eyes wide as she sat in the passenger seat between Cynthia in the open window and me in the driver’s seat.

Cynthia snapped her finger. “Yeah, if you, like, asked her, she’d get all suspicious.”

“Exactly.” I nodded.

“Wow. Like, that is a problem.” Cynthia narrowed her eyes.

“I know.” I turned my hands over and sighed.

“Bummer, right?” Annie Mae added. “What to do, what to do.”

“I have an idea. Do you want me to find out?” Cynthia asked.

“Sure. Only if you want to,” I said.

“Like, of course, I wouldn’t let her know what I’m, like, doing. You know, the surprise and all.” Cynthia pulled a phone out of her tattered black leather backpack. “Give me your number, and I’ll text you.”

I gave Cynthia my cell number.

Annie Mae looked at me and then at Cynthia. “Like, wow.”